Hearts of Black and Gold
by Sandshadow9
Summary: The war has ended, but a young IceWing named Storm has never felt more troubled. When a simple mission to the desert turns into an attack, Storm finds herself stuck with a group of dragons she had once called enemies. However, old magic is resurfacing in Pyrrhia once again and those ambitious enough to search for it will do whatever it takes to find it.
1. Now what?

Although Storm didn't know it at the time, her destiny was about to be rewritten. She sat quietly in the middle of the huge crowd of IceWings that had gathered in the First Circle at the urgent request of Queen Glacier. Storm speculated that the entire tribe was present, but despite the mass of dragons there was hardly a sound as they sat in anticipation. It was a bitterly cold winter's night, with every breath looking like a puff of smoke as it left the body and the three moons in the sky reflecting off the freshly fallen snow creating so much light that the numerous moon globes that surrounded the crowd were hardly necessary.

While it had not been explicitly said, everyone knew the reason for the meeting. Yesterday had been the brightest night and their Queen had met with the Dragonets of Destiny. The war was over. At least that was what had been promised.

Finally, the elegant white figure of Queen Glacier emerged onto the central platform, followed closely by the former Princess Blaze, her pale gold scales covered by a cape of polar bear fur. From her position Storm had to squint and move her head around to see past the taller dragons sitting in front of her. From the platform Queen Glacier's commanding voice spoke to the throng of dragons.

 _Or at least it would be commanding if I could hear anything from here!_ She thought with an annoyed grimace and gave the dragon stepping on her tail an angry glare.

While she couldn't hear everything perfectly, the excited murmuring of dragons swept through the crowd so she was able to get the basic information: The good news: the war was over; the bad news: they didn't win; but also the good news: no one really won anyway so it didn't matter. None of the three sisters had won the throne, some other dragon had become Queen of the SandWings. Storm was confused about the whole situation, but she had a feeling she would know more later on once the stories of that fateful night began to circulate.

After some speeches by other members of the royal family and various high ranking military officials they were all dismissed. The crowd dispersed in an orderly fashion, with those in the front (which consisted on First Circle dragons) leaving first followed by those behind. Eventually Storm's row took to the sky. Many dragons didn't leave right away though and hovered in the sky waiting for their family or friends to catch up with them so that they could talk about what had just occurred. Storm tried to ignore the friendly greetings and excited chatter that filled the sky as she soared home alone. The moons were still high in the sky, and they would remain like that until the Spring Equinox when the sun would finally rise above the horizon. As such, Storm relied on mostly moonlight to find her way home. She soared over the Second Circle, then the Third and lingered as she passed the Fourth.

The Fourth Circle was humble to say the least. It was the circle of the middle class, so soldiers, merchants, various artisans and the odd jeweller could be found here. It was a wealthy enough district that the roads and trails were lighted with Moon Globes that had been strung onto poles all around the area, and the dragons here lived in relative comfort. It was modest, and as of a few months ago Storm had reached Fourth Circle ranking. But she didn't live here. She couldn't yet afford a house in this area. With a disappointed sigh Storm continued to fly in the direction of where she _actually_ lived, which was her parents' house in the Seventh Circle.

In this district there were fewer Moon Globes strung around, and some were beginning to fade and needed to be replaced. The houses here were also fairly simple. To an outsider they would just look like banks of snow on a deserted tundra, but in reality each large bump on the terrain was a house. There were no windows and the doors were very tightly placed into the walls as to prevent the blizzard winds from wreaking havoc.

As she arrived so too did the other Seventh Circle dragons that had been attending the assembly. They gathered in the dimply lit streets in boisterous groups, shouting and jigging about at the news of the War's end. It was completely undignified in every way but Storm let out a small smile. The whole Kingdom seemed to have released a breath of tension now that the fighting was over. Even the auroras looked brighter as they flitted freely in the night.

Storm finally reached her own house and pushed the large ice block that served as the door out of the way, quickly closing it behind her as a gust of wind blew loose snow into the house. IceWings were not extravagant dragons when it came to decoration, and Storm's house reflected this. It was sparsely furnished, to the left was a kitchen table made of conifer trees that stood beside the wall of cooking knives and on the wall to the right was a portrait of her family.

In the middle was a tunnel leading to the bedrooms of her parents, sister and her own room.

Storm sat quietly for a moment, reflecting on what had just happened.

"Now what?" She whispered to herself.

On a small section of the wall in between the portrait and the bedroom tunnels where three pieces of paper mounted on the wall with seal teeth. They were letters to be specific, all from the general of the IceWing army. The first letter was dated four years back, and was informing her of the death of her mother in battle. The second letter from two years ago, in which her father was also killed. The third was from last week, in which her sister was now gone too.

Storm approached the letters and rested her head on the wall beside them, "Now what?" she asked again.

Storm had been very young when her mother had died. She had hardly got to know her, but she had known and loved her father dearly. When he had died it was just her and her sister, her only real friend in the world. But now even she was gone and Storm was torn apart all over again.

And perhaps the worst part of all this was that the war was over.

Her family was a military family, and even when she had been surrounded by the chaos of war Storm has known what was expected of her. Through all her loses Storm had focused on the one goal of becoming a top soldier. She had put her heart and soul in to training and studies, anything to distract her. Eventually it had paid off and she had begun to climb the ranks and catch the attention of higher ranking officers.

But now even the war was over but instead of feeling relieved she had never felt more lost.

Her vision suddenly became blurry as tears began to gather at her eyes. She slammed her eyes shut and let out a snarl, "I will not cry! I am stronger than my emotions!" she hissed at herself. After a few moments she was able to calm down, but suddenly felt exhausted. She looked down the bedroom tunnel. Her chamber was at the very end of the hallway, but she didn't have the strength to pass the from-now-on forever empty rooms of her family. She decided to curl up beneath the portrait of her family and let the exhaustion overwhelm her.

 _Now what?_ Were her last thoughts as she drifted to sleep.

* * *

Storm lazily opened a single eye as she was woken by a knocking on the ice block that was her door. She let out a massive yawn, and started to stretch her stiff back that was aching from sleeping on the floor.

 _Why didn't I just go and sleep in my bed? Why was I such a coward last night?_ She complained to herself, yet a warm shiver ran down her spine at the thought of the empty beds of her family. She shook the feeling away as the knocking became more aggressive.

"I'll be there in a moment!" She shouted, heading over to the door and pushing it out of the way only to be greeted by the annoyed and tired looking face of a young male IceWing. He had obviously been partaking in the celebrations last night and had not expected to be called into duty in the morning. However, he wore the stylish armor of the second circle, so Storm knew better than to show him disrespected.

He gave her a quick salute, to which she returned, and then pushed a scroll into her talons, "You've been summoned by General Shiver to meet in the training arena located in the first circle. He demands you come as soon as possible," the male said quickly. He then saluted once more and left.

Storm watched him fly away with a sour expression on her face. _What a pompous puffin._ She thought to herself.

She already knew what was on the scroll; it was just a formal written request of what the IceWing male had just told her. But since she was not First Circle she would have to present it to the guards in order to be permitted to enter.

The sudden appearance of such a request snapped Storm out of her pity party and she rushed to her room to get her armor. She had been polishing it yesterday before the assembly and it was still sitting on her bed of polar bear fur. It only consisted of a helmet, a chest plate and gauntlets which were all made of steel. It was very old armor, with many dents and scratch marks that required constant polishing in order to hide them. But it wasn't very bulky, which Storm liked. It was meant to provide protection to certain vulnerable areas, like the chest, but still remain lightweight and flexible.

She picked up the chest plate looked at her distorted reflection in the polished armor and touched the purple scales that were freckled on her face. Storm had always been proud of the fact that she came from a long line of warrior dragonesses that went back thousands of generations, and one of the key features of the lineage that each dragoness shared was the abnormal amounts of purple in their scales. It wasn't obvious at first, sometimes the light had to hit her scales at just the right angle for the deep violets and brighter amethyst colours to shine through.

There were also purple flecks in her pale blue eyes and small violet scales peppered all over her snout. Storm had always liked these features because they connected her with her mother and sister, who also had them. As for her father, as much as she loved him, she wished she had not gotten as much of his features. Her father had always been large for his age and parts of this largeness had been given to her. The first was her abnormally long tail, which was three feet longer than that of a typical IceWing her age. It looked bizarre to say the least, always sticking out and getting stepped on. Her wings, forefeet and hind-feet were also comically large as well and more than once had caused her to trip and fall flat on her snout. Her forefeet were also covered in little scars that had been her own fault. Several years ago, in order to afford new armor for her sister she had worked a year at the Queen's palace, cleaning up the bones and such from the court's meals and had more than once gotten little bone shards or shark teeth stuck in her feet.

Between the two of them, they had been able to afford the armor while Storm had received the ancient, battle scared armor that had been in her family for generations. The one she was putting on now.

She put on the chest plate, then the helmet which covered most of her forehead and snout and finally stuffed her bulky feet in the gauntlets and rushed out the door. Based on the position of the moons, it was probably early "morning", except today the usual bustle of dragons leaving to work was replaced by clusters of dragons that were still celebrating since yesterday at the news of the end of the war. There was laughter, feasting, dancing, and general fun times being had. They were even singing old IceWing songs, songs that dragons from the first circle would find ridiculous and disgraceful.

Storm tried to ignore it all as she took to the sky, wobbling slightly as she compensated for the additional weight of the armor. There was a light snow fall that morning, and Storm blinked rapidly as the tiny snowflakes began to sting her face.

As she flew she passed the time trying to figure out why she had been summoned.

 _Well, I am going to the training area so maybe more training? But that doesn't make any sense, the wars over, why would I need more training?_ She was now out of the fourth circle and heading over the third. The houses here were taller and looked more like upside down icicles.

 _Maybe it's a patrol duty. That would make sense. The war just ended a few days ago; there are probably still troops and armies on the move. It will take a few weeks to call back all the soldiers from the field,_ she reasoned as she weaved in between the buildings.

 _Or maybe you're getting promoted!_ An excited voice shouted in her head, and Storm hushed it like a mother silencing an overactive dragonet.

Eventually she reached the first circle. It was surrounded by a miniature version of the Great Ice Cliff that encircled the Ice Kingdom, except that it didn't shoot deadly projectiles. There were a couple of guards with spears chatting on the wall, and she flew towards then, saluted and handed them the scroll she had been given.

While the first guard read the scroll, the second one was looking at her with great confusion. Since he was above her rank she repressed the urge to swat him on the nose, but eventually his expression changed to that of someone who had finally remembered what they had forgotten.

"You're Violet's daughter, aren't you!? I would recognize those scales anywhere," he finally said with great satisfaction.

Storm fumbled for her words, she had not been expecting to have to talk to anyone for at least another twenty minutes. "Erm, yes, that's right," she replied, hoping she would be able to leave soon. Unfortunately the guard seemed to be in a chatty mood.

"Yeah, we trained together in the first circle. She was always ahead of us all," he said with admiration. "Her mother, being your grandmother that is, had been the general at that time, in fact, at least one member of your lineage seemed to hold a high ranking position in the military for as long as the Ice Kingdom existed." He seemed to be lost in memories, and Storm nodded politely the whole time but was secretly hoping to be dismissed soon.

"Wait, did you say the first circle?" The guard holding the scroll spoke up now. "How can that be? This dragon's family..." he flicked his tail in her direction, "is from the seventh circle."

Storm's face suddenly turned blue with embarrassment as she knew what was coming next. The older guard leaned his head in towards the younger male and said in a hushed voiced. "Oh it was quite the scandal, you see, her mother fell in love with..."

"OK THANK YOU BUT I HAVE TO LEAVE NOW," Storm said a little too loudly, and then grabbed the scroll from the guard's talons and flew off, not caring if she had offended them.

Her face was still blue as she flew away, part embarrassment and part anger. _What was their problem?_ She fumed to herself. _That was completely unprofessional; I should make a formal complaint. Guards are not supposed to stand around gossiping about the dragon that is RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM._

She finally arrived at the training area, which actually consisted of several buildings. One was for general fitness and strength building, another for weapons training and a third was like a large arena for battle practice. Since only the arena was lit from within with Moon Globes Storm reasoned that was the location of the meeting. Her reasoning was correct as the huge iron gates that blocked the large entrance tunnel to the building were unlocked and she could hear the voice of General Shiver within. She entered and shut the doors behind her. As she walked through the entrance tunnel the floor changed from fluffy snow to a softer, dirt like substance that was better for training. Storm didn't know where they found the material, perhaps in the wasteland that was between here and the Sand Kingdom. She entered the humongous domed arena, which was large enough to provide ample room for entire battalions to do air battle simulations and was filled with various obstacles and training dummies that had been pushed aside along the walls.

What was in the center of the arena was actually living dragons. To the left was a precise and organized line of fifteen IceWings, the majority she didn't recognize, but all of them were first circle as shown by their necklaces. Prince Frazil, the Queen's own son, was even present. There were also about twenty or so SandWings walking around too, obviously the rest of Blaze's supporters that hadn't ran to the desert as soon as they heard the war was over. Despite being indoors they wore layers and layers of fur cloaks and other various garments. Storm sympathized with them, this war was bad for everyone but being forced to live in a climate that was the opposite of what one was evolved for must have been brutal. There was also General Shiver who was facing away from her and speaking with Blaze and Queen Glacier.

Storm did a double take, _OH MOONS, QUEEN GLACIER IS HERE._ She stopped in her tracks, hoping they hadn't noticed her enter. They seemed to be deep in conversation so she quickly scuttled over to the line of IceWings and mimicked the customary pose with her tail curled behind her (its extra length making it difficult) and her head pointed upward at a 60° angle. A SandWing noticed her sneaky antics and gave out a small laugh which made her face blush blue.

 _I really need to get my act together. I'm an embarrassment to the tribe!_ She scolded herself. Luckily Storm didn't get to dwell on her embarrassment for very long.

"Alright warriors, listen up!" General Shiver suddenly ordered, his deep voice echoing in the giant arena. He was an enormous dragon with deep blue scales zig-zagging over his back and wings.

"You have each been selected for a special mission based on recommendations from your teachers and superiors who have noticed your skills and loyalty," he explained and Storm puffed out her chest with pride. She would have to remember to thank her instructor Wolf later on.

"Your mission," he continued, "is to escort Blaze and her troops safely back to the Sand Kingdom. Despite the war being over our reports indicate that there are still hostile enemy battalions stationed on Skywing territory in-between the Ice Kingdom and Sand Kingdom, as well as along the delta river that leads into the mountains. Therefore we will avoid this area and fly along the Westcoast. It will take four days to get to Queen Thorn's palace, and a four day return flight. I will provide you with your canteens of water before we leave and we will hunt for food as needed. The only equipment you will need is your armor and blankets. Meet again here in three hours for departure. Dismissed!"

The line of IceWings saluted in unison and in an orderly fashion made their way towards the exit.

"Private Storm, please come speak to me before you leave," General Shiver called out and for a moment Storm almost froze in place, but quickly stepped aside and let the line of IceWings pass by.

 _Orca dung!_ She cursed. _Did he see me enter late?_

The large male approached her, but his expression was unreadable. She saluted him as he stood before her and watched as he took out a scroll from a pouch that was fastened across his chest.

"Here, you'll need this to get back into the First Circle," he said, handing it to her.

"Oh, thank you, Sir," Storm replied, she had almost forgotten about the whole situation with guards. _Maybe some other guards will be on duty by the time I return._ She hoped.

"Now that the war and your training are over, perhaps you should now focus your efforts into reaching the first circle. You've only just turned six, you still have a year until your adult placement is determined and based on what I've seen and heard about you, I think you will easily climb the ranks," the General said.

Storm was stunned at the compliment, but then again, her sister had reached first circle status shortly before turning seven. Indeed, so had her mother as well as every female in her lineage that came before her. There were high expectations for her.

"Yes, I intend to devote myself to reaching the first circle as soon as I return from this mission," she replied dutifully and the large male nodded his approval. Storm was expecting to be dismissed, but suddenly his hard gaze became softer.

"Also...I am sorry to hear about the death of your sister," he said solemnly and Storm tried to remain collected as she felt a lump appear in her throat.

"She was an excellent warrior and leader and I had hoped to make her my replacement when I retired," he confided.

Storm didn't trust herself to speak without choking up so she simply dipped her head in gratitude and was then dismissed.

As she turned to leave she saw the SandWing from earlier, the one that had laughed at her, was now staring at her. Storm noticed now that it was a male, and a young one at that, perhaps four? It was hard to tell with all those cloaks covering him. He had a sympathetic look on his face as their eyes met and Storm quickly looked away. Had he been listening to her conversation with the General?

 _Nosy sand-muncher. The sooner they are out of the arctic the better._ She seethed, her rage stemming more from her anger at herself for almost crying in front of the General than from the SandWing. If she were honest with herself, Storm didn't really believe that IceWings were better than SandWings. All IceWings were taught in school that their tribe was the best and most superior tribe in Pyrrhia, but if this war had taught her anything, it was that IceWings live and die just the same as any other dragon.

She eventually exited the arena and welcomed the cooling gust of wind as it swirled around her, causing the freshly fallen snow to dance about for only an instant before resettling. The light snow fall from earlier had turned into a respectable flurry as large, soft snowflakes gently accumulated on the ground like a bed of feathers.

On any other night it would have been completely silent, with the only sound being the crunching of the snow beneath one's feet. However, tonight the first circle was alive with balls and banquets. Ballroom music could be heard from multiple palaces, with the loudest coming from the Queen's own castle.

The Northern Lights were also streaming across the sky, the green and red ribbons of light illuminating the snow to match their colours. Storm let out a sigh, her breath creating a puff of vapour that quickly disappeared. According to IceWing legend, the souls of the deceased were among those lights. She wondered if her family was there tonight, flying above her, watching over their home. Storm looked around her to make sure no one was nearby. After she confirmed this, she looked back up at the lights, "I promise I will make you proud, I won't disappoint you," she whispered. She then took to the sky to return to home. It was time to prepare for her journey.


	2. Oryx and Caracal

Even though she didn't have a lot to prepare, Storm still quickly rushed to gather her things. She removed her armor and put on her harness. It was a series of ropes, loops and buckles that could be used to fasten water bottles, blankets and other equipment onto. She folded her large polar bear fur blanket into a neat and small bundle and fastened it onto her harness. She then put her armor back on and did a quick run through of the house to make sure there was no food or garbage left out. Once she was satisfied she went to the door to leave, but something held her back.

She turned around and slowly, almost fearfully, walked up to the portrait of her family. She had studied it many times, trying to memorize their faces so she wouldn't forget them. The portrait had been completed when Storm had been very young; the last time they had all been together. Her parents were in the back ground, looking perfect and elegant. Her mother's beautiful and gentle features complimenting the purple hue of her scales. Her father was also looking regal even though he stood almost two heads taller than her mother despite being the same age. His own light-blue tinted scales bringing out the blue of his eyes. Her sister, Qana, was sitting in front of their father looking like a spitting image of mother, her eyes alert and intelligent. And then there was Storm, sitting in front of her mother. Storm had looked the way all dragonets did at that age; her eyes were too big for her head and her head too big for her body. She looked like a fish that had tried to disguise themselves as a dragon and nonchalantly slip into some random family's portrait.

She let out a shaky breath, not realizing the tears that were running down her face. She quickly wiped them away, embarrassed to be crying even though she was alone. She took several deep breaths and tried to reason with herself.

"Qana wouldn't be such a mess; she would know just what to do. Stop crying and do what you must." She told herself, but deep down, Storm couldn't shake this horrible feeling. The feeling that her sister should have been the one to survive instead of Storm. Qana had always been the strong one. When their mother died and their father had been away at war, Qana had stepped in and filled the role of both parents. They only had had each other to lean on. Her military career was just as impressive, even the General himself even said that he wanted her to be his replacement. She would have made the family proud. Storm, however, wasn't sure she could live up to the expectations.

 _Ugh, what am I doing? I have to leave; I can't be standing here obsessing over this!_ She scolded herself, but her body seemed frozen to the spot as she still didn't get up to leave.

Then, in an act of impulsivity, she reached up and removed the portrait from the wall. She removed the picture from the frame and gently rolled up the canvas and placed it into a waterproof leather pouch which she then fastened to her harness.

As she left her house, she tried to convince herself that it was completely normal to carry around a professionally painted portrait of one's dead family.

* * *

Storm entered the first circle without any embarrassing conversations and was surprised to find she was the first IceWing to have returned to the arena. Not even General Shiver was there. However, the SandWings were still there and based on the stack of conifer trees that were placed in the center it appeared that some IceWing had brought them wood to make some fires while they waited to leave. And they had done just that. Indeed, several very _large_ fires were scattered all over the arena, causing the temperature in the building to increase a considerable amount. As such, the SandWings had removed most of their cloaks and were seeming a lot more comfortable now. They sat around the fires chatting and cooking prey that had been caught for them.

Storm, feeling very awkward and out of place, tried to keep out of sight and stick to the walls, but the alien smell of burning wood and smoke kept causing her to sneeze. It wasn't long before one of them noticed her, and it just so happened to be the same young male as before. As he approached, Storm began rearranging the equipment that she had been hiding next to, pretending to be busy and uninterested in social interactions. The SandWing did not pick up on this.

"Hi there, your name is Storm, right?" he said, his voice youthful and energetic. Now that he had removed a few layers Storm could see that he was indeed around four years old. He was shorter than she was; his eyes were at the level as her mouth. Also his scales were not the usual pale gold of normal SandWings but were more of a grey or cream colour which made his diamondback pattern nearly invisible. At the same time his eyes were a vivid copper. _Perhaps this is what happens when SandWings start living in the arctic._ Storm thought.

He was looking at her expectantly and Storm realized there was no escaping this conversation.

"Yes, you are correct," she replied as curtly as possible. _Well, since I am speaking with him anyway, I might as well find out if he was eavesdropping on me._ "And how did you know my name?" she asked him, but she had a pretty good idea what the answer was.

The male scratched the back of his neck and smiled shamelessly, "Well...I kind of overheard you talking to that General," he admitted.

 _I knew it! Such disgraceful behaviour!_ she thought. But before she could scold him, he stuck out his talon in a friendly manner and introduced himself, "My name is Oryx by the way." He waited patiently as Storm inspected his talon for dirt before firmly shaking it.

"You know, you could probably take off that helmet, we still have a few hours before we leave. It must be uncomfortable," he suggested.

"Don't be ridiculous," Storm hissed. "I'll have you know that it is _very_ comfortable, and even if it wasn't IceWings are expected to wear their armor at all times when on duty. It should be like a second set of scales for them," she lectured, to which Oryx raised his eyebrow in skepticism. This led to a stare down between the two and Storm eventually relented.

"Alright, fine," she said as she unfastened the clasp and removed her helmet.

Oryx eyes widened in surprise, "Wow, you're really purple!" he said which was quickly followed by Storm putting her helmet back on in embarrassment and annoyance.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way!" he sputtered out, "I've just never seen so much purple on an IceWing before. Also, wow, is that your tail because it's huge!"

Sufficiently humiliated Storm quickly walked away from Oryx, hiding her blue face under her helmet.

"No wait, I'm sorry! It's a lovely tail, very...elegant and stuff, he fumbled out, trailing behind her.

"Oh just shut up!" Storm called back. He eventually caught up and began walking next to her. "Yeah, that's probably for the best," he agreed with a laugh. This agreement lasted a whole ten seconds.

"So you're from the Fourth Circle, right? What's it like there? What's the different between all circles? In fact, what is the whole deal with these circles anyway?"

Storm took a deep breath as a headache began to form in her temples that could have been from the smoke, but was probably from Oryx. Before she could answer the barrage of questions, a neatly stacked pile of training equipment collapsed in front of them. Along with the piles of dummies and floor mats, a small SandWing dragonet tumbled down as well and luckily landed on one of the mats and began to giggle and laugh. It was a small female, and not even a year old.

The shock at seeing such a young Sandwing dragonet surprised Storm so much that, in hindsight, she exclaimed a stupid question:"WHAT IN THE MOONS IS THAT?"

"Well, in the Sand Kingdom we call them 'dragonets' or 'hatchlings'," Oryx simpered and Storm had to hold herself back from swatting him on the snout.

"Yes, thank you, Oryx," she replied dryly. "But what is she doing _here_?"

As it seemed, Oryx's attitude was just getting warmed up, "Well...when two dragons are very fond of each other they get together and..."

"ORYX I SWEAR I AM GOING TO BITE YOU!" Storm cut him off, blushing at the implications. She sent a silent prayer to the ancient Queen Firn, who had been known for her patience, in hopes that the spirit of the dead Queen would help her get through this situation without attacking someone. "What I am trying to ask is: why is there a SandWing dragonet amongst an _army of soldiers_ in the middle of the Ice Kingdom? Either you are making dragonets fight, or you are behaving _very_ irresponsibly."

Oryx shrugged, his expression turning from mischievous to regretful. "Well, when you think you're going to die tomorrow you kind of just live for today. No matter what the consequences are."

Storm had a flurry of different emotions run through her: disappointment and anger at the SandWing troops for their irresponsible behaviour, sadness for this dragonet who has never been to the desert where she belongs, and anxiety at the idea of this little creature fending for herself.

"Well, where are her parents?" Storm asked, and Oryx replied with a shrug. This earned him a stinging whip from her tail.

"OW!" he yelped, rubbing the area that she had hit. "What was that for?"

"Because that's not good enough!" she seethed. "I don't care if there is a war going on, I don't care if the world is ending! You don't abandon hatchlings to fend for themselves!"

"Just calm down, alright?!" Oryx anxiously replied, looking somewhat fearful. "I'm taking good care of her, she's my half-sister after all. Besides, I was born in that arctic too and I turned out fine!" he pointed out.

"Wait, you were born...in the arctic?" Suddenly his strange scale colour made sense.

"Yep!" he replied. "My mother died before I hatched, though. And my father never stepped up to claim me so I was just raised by the others." His expression wasn't sorrowful or angry, rather, he had a proud grin on his face as if it were an accomplishment.

Storm felt disheartened at his confidence. He had obviously suffered a great loss during this war as well, but here he was talking about it as if it were nothing. As for herself, she couldn't even _listen_ to someone talk about her sister without choking up.

A sudden ruckus made both dragons turn back towards the hatchling who had managed to knock over a training dummy and was now gripping it with her teeth and fore-claws while kicking it aggressively.

"Caracal, cut that out!" Oryx said with more authority than Storm expected him from him. He hurried over to the small dragoness who, thinking this was some sort of game, giggled and ran off to hide behind some other mats and equipment.

"NO!" squeaked Caracal from somewhere behind the wall of training paraphernalia. "I is having fun times!"

Storm watched with equal parts amusement and exasperation as a game of hide and seek commenced in which Caracal would dodge in between the gear just as Oryx was about the catch her, all while more equipment fell to the ground. Soon, many of the SandWings were looking in their direction, wondering what was going on. At that point Storm decided it was time to get a hold of the situation. _Never leave a Sandwing to do an Icewing's job._

"Caracal!" she barked, putting on her severest face. "Enough of this foolishness, you are going to get hurt so if you would please..."

"AAH! A MONSTER!" Caracal cried in excitement and ran up a fake maple tree. Storm looked around in confusion as saw Oryx role his eyes.

"It's your helmet," he informed her.

Storm sighed and removed it. "See, Caracal? I am not a monster, just an IceWing," she said to the tree, and saw a pair of gold eyes stare back at her through the foliage. "Now, for your safety I would appreciate it if you would please -"

Suddenly a tiny gold body tackled her face, latching onto it and causing Storm to practically fall over backwards. "Your face is purple! I LOVES PURPLE!" Caracal shouted and laughed, refusing to let go over Storm's head. Storm regained balance but couldn't see a thing through the small wings that covered her eyes and face. She blindly felt around until she found a good spot to grab the dragonet to try and pry her off. Caracal, however, thinking this was great fun, refused to let go. She could hear Oryx roaring with laughter, and her face began to blush a deep blue as she heard amused chatter arise from the other SandWings.

Suddenly the amused chatter and laughter ceased, and Storm wasn't left with any time to wonder why.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" General Shiver yelled.  
Caracal immediately let go of Storm's face, and Storm quickly placed her on the ground where the little dragon rushed over to Oryx and hid under his wing. Oryx himself was looking pretty guilty as well.

"Private Storm, why is your helmet off? This is a breach of protocol! And why is this place such a mess?" Storm fumbled to put on her helmet while trying to think of a reply, luckily Oryx stepped in to help.

"Uh, that was my fault, Sir. I was just..."

"THEN CLEAN IT UP!" the General barked at him, "And get that dragonet under control! She shouldn't even be here!"

Oryx quickly nodded and began to tidy up the equipment while Caracal held onto him timidly. Meanwhile Storm had time to put her helmet on and position herself into the proper stance with her head and tail positioned just right. General Shiver then turned to her, his eyes burning.

"I expected better from you! Don't make me regret allowing you to join this mission. Now, go and help distribute the water canteens!"

"Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir. It won't happen again, Sir," Storm blurted out.

"Don't apologize; just do as you're ordered!" he growled.

With one last "Yes, Sir" Storm ran towards the two sleds that had been brought in. Each was loaded with water bottles which had been constructed from bone, cartilage and waterproof leather. One sled was for the SandWings and the other for the IceWings. By now the other IceWings were returning, and despite just being yelled at in front of the SandWings, she was glad the other IceWings hadn't been here.

She gave a waterbottle to each IceWing as they entered the arena and sighed to herself. This was going to be a long four days.

* * *

Just as ordered, the large group of dragons left the Ice Kingdom right on time. They had to leave through a secret tunnel that by passed under the Great Ice Cliff as to prevent their SandWing guests from being impaled. It had apparently been constructed shortly after the legendary betrayal of the Nightwings who stole both Prince Arctic as well as the bracelets that allowed non-Icewings to transverse the wall. It was a tribe secret and the Sandwings had to be blindfolded to hide its location but within record time they were in the sky and flying towards the desert.

Storm remained on her best behaviour. Doing everything as instructed and saying the least amount as possible, anything to make up for her earlier embarrassment. While she maintained her cold disposition she had to admit she was a little excited. When she had been very young she had wanted to visit other tribes and see all the plants and animals that lived there. Shortly after expressing her interest to her parents, she was strictly informed that her life would not be one of travel.

As the IceWings flew in silence, the SandWings were talking non-stop. Most of the conversation was Blaze going on about all the parties she would have, and how she hoped Queen Glacier would come visit her sometime. There had been many rumours circulating about Queen Glacier and Blaze, mostly about how protective Queen Glacier had been. Most had brushed it off as the Queen protecting her investments while others had suggested something...more between the two.

Storm looked around, trying to ignore the annoying conversations of the SandWings. The sky was still dark; they had been flying for most of the day but it would be a ways yet before they would leave the Northern tip and the sun would rise. Storm couldn't wait. It wasn't often that IceWings got to see a sunrise or sunset.

While looking around Storm noticed two figures flying some distance behind the group. Upon further inspection she recognized them as Oryx and Caracal. She almost flew right to them, but then remembered her earlier blunder. Instead she approached General Shiver who was flying at the front of the formation.

"General, Sir! Two SandWings have fallen behind."

The General looked at Storm, then swiveled his head to look behind them. "You are correct, Private. Go to them and see what is wrong," he ordered. Storm saluted and did a wide bank in the sky and flew towards the two dragons.

As she approached them, she did a second banking turn so that she was flying in the same direction, and approached Oryx from his left side.

"What's going on? Why are you two falling behind?" she asked, but then noticed that Caracal's wing beats were erratic and frantic, and the young dragoness was panting heavily.

"What's wrong with her!?" Storm shouted with great anxiety.

"Well, she's only young, Storm. She doesn't fly too well, she gets tired easily," Oryx explained.

"NO!" Caracal yelled. "I am *pant* the BESTEST *pant* flyer EVER *pant*."

Storm gave Oryx a fierce look. "Well why haven't you helped her? Carry her or something!"

Oryx gave her an exasperated expression and then reached towards Caracal to grab her. The tiny dragon immediately began to claw and hiss at him so aggressively that she almost fell from the sky.

"NO. I FLY BY MYSELF. I AM BESTEST!" she insisted.

Oryx removed his talons and gave Storm a helpless shrug. Storm rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. _Do I have to do everything?_ The IceWing flew and positioned herself directly above the dragonet, and after a few moments of waiting for the right moment, she quickly snatched the hatchling from the sky, folding her wings closed and holding her tightly.

"HEY!" Caracal yelled and began to vigorously squirm. Storm quickly fastened the young dragon to her harness, making sure she wouldn't be able to reach any of the knots and untie herself. Once satisfied that the dragonet wasn't going anywhere, Storm turned to Oryx. "Alright, let's catch up with the others."

"Yes, ma'am," Oryx said with an amused smiled on his face. "That's a pretty neat trick; you'll have to teach it to me."

"If we have time." Storm said non-committedly. As Storm returned to her position in the flight formation Caracal was fiercely trying to swivel her head and bite the IceWing, kicking her four feet and ordering to be let go. All of which went ignored by Storm.

It wasn't long before the little dragon ran out of steam and hung limply, and for several minutes Storm flew in relative peace and quiet until Caracal finally spoke up, her voice timid and remorseful, "I'm sorry I got you in troubles with that mean yell-y dragon," she apologized suddenly.

Storm blinked in surprise, not really knowing what to say. _Oh, she must mean General Shiver._ She felt something rub against her wing and she looked to her right to see Oryx, nudging her while looking at Caracal's crestfallen expression, obviously expecting her to say something reassuring.

Storm tried her best, "Uh, no it wasn't your fault, Caracal. I got in trouble for removing my helmet, so it was mostly my own fault..." she explained, "...but it was also Oryx's fault too," she added quickly, shooting the male a dirty look. _He should have just let me keep to myself, but NOOO he just had to start a conversation with me._

Despite being completely serious Caracal giggled at the accusation while Oryx smiled and gave Storm a playful nudge which caused her to wobble slightly in the air and hiss in annoyance. This seemed to satisfy the little SandWing as she didn't say anything else for a while, and Oryx wasn't giving Storm any more expectant looks. So for several more minutes they flew in peaceful silence, even the other SandWings were quieting down, their fatigue from flying all day getting the better of them. This peace was abruptly interrupted with a loud, "I IS BORED!" from Caracal which caused several heads to look towards Storm, who ducked her own in embarrassment.

"Well, we will be landing soon so you'll just have to wait a little longer," Storm informed her sharply and the dragonet let out a dramatic sigh.

"But that too long, I is bored _now,_ " she whined and started kicking her feet in frustration. "Tell me a story!" she finally exclaimed.

Storm heaved a sigh, "Well, I'm sure Oryx has some stories for..."

"NO, I already hear all his stories!" Caracal interrupted, "I wanna hear an _IceWing_ story!"

At this point most of the dragons flying nearby were listening in, and Storm hesitated, not sure what she should do. However, Prince Frazil, who had been flying just in front of her, slowed down and aligned himself with Storm. He was sturdy for an IceWing, with muscular limbs and wings which were lined with scales so lustrous they looked like diamonds. He was also handsome and extremely high ranking. Storm's heart began to pound with anxiety. _OH MOONS, THE PRINCE! WHAT DOES HE WANT? OK, just be calm and don't do anything dumb or shameful_.

"If she wants to hear a story..." Frazil said to Storm, his voice mature and monotone, "then perhaps you should tell her about the military campaigns of Queen Ice who, 300 years ago, was able to..."

"BORING!" Caracal interrupted and Storm nearly dropped out of the sky with mortification. No one interrupted someone of higher rank. Let alone the Prince!

"I no want _history,_ I just want the _story_. I wanna hear about magics and heroes and powerful dragons!" Caracal exclaimed, clasping her talons together in longing.

The Prince scoffed. "Little dragon," he said condescendingly, "Stories like that are either completely made up and therefore serve no constructive purpose, or, they are remnants of old, superstitious folktales and must be eradicated to allow for proper progressive thoughts to flourish. There is no place for such things in proper society." And with that, Prince Frazil returned to his position ahead of Storm and, thankfully, didn't see Caracal sticking her tongue out at him.

However, it didn't take long to notice that the harsh words had taken effect in the young dragon as she suddenly became quiet and unresponsive. Storm could understand, having grown up with her father telling all sorts of fantastic stories it was rather hurtful to hear them belittled by the Prince. She then felt Oryx nudging her again with that same expectant expression. Storm couldn't help but get a little angry with him. _Why is it up to me to cheer her up and entertain her? She's not even part of my tribe!_

When it became apparent that Caracal was quite upset and showed no sign of brightening Storm reluctantly decided she should probably do something. She quickly looked around her to make sure no one was listening, and to her luck it seemed everyone was minding their own business now. Well, everyone except Oryx who was giving her a curious look. Surprisingly, Storm found she didn't mind whether he heard her or not.

"Alright, so, I might know _one_ story," she whispered to Caracal, and the young dragon's eyes lit up. However, it was a lie. She actually knew about thirty stories but she didn't want to let that information slip.

"Really?" Caracal whispered back with joy, "With magics and stuff?"

"Yes, but it will have to wait for later...it's a secret story," Storm told her, which was sort of true. She certainly didn't want the other IceWings hearing her tell it.

"Can you at least tell me what it about?" the dragonet begged. Storm sighed once again, looked around anxiously and lowered her head closer to Caracal.

"It's about the first animus dragon," Storm explained in the lowest whisper she could muster. Luckily Caracal was able to hear her and clapped her talons with excitement. Oryx, also having somehow heard her, looked at her with interest.

Soon, the large group of dragons began to approach a conifer forest. It was located at the edge of the Northern tip where the boarder of the Ice Kingdom ended and the wasteland between here and the Sand Kingdom began. Unofficially this location was often referred to as the 'Mouth of the Pyrrhia' in reference to the shape of the continent which many claimed looked like a dragon, and also the numerous tall pine trees that looked like teeth.

"Prepare to land!" General Shiver called out, and the dragons began to descend to the forest floor. Their wing beats shook the trees free of their coat of snow and flung it into the sky, creating a small blizzard. The air smelled of fresh pine and the snow in this area was not as heavy as in the arctic, allowing for some bushes and other vegetation to sprout beneath the trees.

In a relatively snow free clearing Storm landed and untied Caracal from her harness. The dragonet began to stretch and fluttered her wings, and then ran to the nearest tree and began to climb it. Finally, Oryx seemed to step in and take back his role as dragonet watcher as he swiftly approached the tree and tried to get Caracal to come down. All around her the other dragons were preparing the campsite. The SandWings were starting little fires and pitching tents, and Storm joined the other IceWings as they lined up in front of General Shiver who was organizing a hunting patrol as well as a guard patrol.

"We'll wait for you when you get back!" Oryx hollered at her before he stuck his head back in the tree in an attempt to capture the allusive Caracal. Storm ignored the raised eyebrows of the surrounding IceWings and hurried to join some other tribemates that were already in the forest.

As they prowled through the trees Storm looked up at the sky. It was still night, but the moons were no longer right above them, rather, they were near the horizon and she wondered if they would see a sunrise.

She also wondered if her family could still see her from here and gently grasped the pouch that contained the portrait.

Storm shook these thoughts away and ran to catch up with the others.


	3. Legends in the fog

Storm thanked the spirits for the bountiful amount of prey in the area. Even after hunting for herself she had been able to catch several caribou for the others before being released from duty to set up her bed and sleep. As she entered camp she hoped that perhaps Oryx and Caracal were asleep and she wouldn't need to make good of her promise.

This was not the case, as it appeared that Oryx was still awake and waved at her from across the camp. Sitting beside the SandWing was a dozing Caracal.

Storm hesitated in approaching them. All the other IceWings were laying out their beds on the other side of camp, away from the fires and from the SandWings. _Maybe I should do the same_...

"STORM! OVER HERE!" Oryx yelled, mistaking her hesitation for blindness. Storm's reluctance vanished. She raced across the clearing and practically tackled him as she quickly covered his mouth.

"SHH, don't yell like that!" She blushed and looked around anxiously to see some dragons looking in their direction.

"You need to stop being so concerned about these things." Oryx said casually, pushing away her talons. "Who cares what other dragons think?"

Storm must have given him a fierce look since he wilted slightly under her gaze.

" _I_ care, actually!" she hissed. "Especially when my career, honor, my _family's_ honor, and EVERYTHING rests on making a good impression and not embarrassing myself or my Tribe!" Storm raged. She then closed her eyes, inhaled and then exhaled while messaging her temples.

When she opened her eyes Oryx had a regretful expression on his face. "I guess I _have_ been getting you into a lot of trouble lately. I'm sorry," he said sincerely. Storm dipped her head in acknowledgment.

"Are you going to get in trouble if you tell that story?" Oryx asked suddenly. "I noticed earlier how anxious you were around the other IceWings when you were talking about it."

Caracal was dozing heavily now, her eyes closed and her head was drooping only to have her jolt herself awake every few seconds. Storm paused. How much should she tell him?

"Well," Storm uttered, not really knowing how to continue, "You once asked me what the difference between the circles was. One of the differences is the belief in the ancient legends." Storm swallowed as Oryx looked at her intently, waiting for more details.

"Erm, I am not sure how much of this you already know, but before the Scorching, the tribes were very different than what they are today. Each had their own language, songs, traditions, legends, and histories. I mean, we have that now too, but it goes back much further than many think. After the Scorching, the tribes all adopted the same language, and many underwent ideological changes as well. As for the Ice Kingdom, much of our ancient ways were labelled as superstitious nonsense and completely replaced. Today any mention of them is met with scorn. At least, that's how it is in the First and Second circles..." Storm trailed off, the hurtful words of Prince Frazil coming to mind.

"But it's different in the Fourth Circle." Oryx continued for her.

Storm nodded and she dropped her voice down to a whisper. "Many of us in the lower circles still follow these old beliefs. But we do so with discretion. My mother was from the First circle, so I learned most of these traditions from my father..." Storm suddenly smacked her talon over her mouth. _What am I doing?_ _Talking to this Sandwing about my family, about my life. I've already said too much._

Oryx was looking at her with great concern and confusion. "Storm...are you alright?"

"I, uh...uhm..." She tried to think of something to explain her behaviour. To her surprise Oryx began to chuckle lightly.

"You're strange Storm, but I like you anyway." He smiled at her and Storm gave him an unamused frown which made him laugh more.

"Everyone look! The sun is coming up!" a random voice abruptly called from somewhere in the camp and within an instant every dragon, SandWing and IceWing alike, looked to the East. Indeed, above the tree line the sky was changing from indigo to blue, and eventually to pink and orange. The camp was suddenly a flurry of activity as dragons took to the sky to get a better view, including Storm. Oryx joined her a few moments later holding a sleeping Caracal in his arms. He gently shook her awake, ignoring the growls and hisses.

"Come on Caracal, don't be like that. I want to show you something."

Caracal reluctantly opened a single eye, and then they both shot open as she saw the sun's rays shoot up from the horizon.

"What _is_ that?" she asked with equal parts concern and wonder, rubbing her eyes in disbelief.

"Caracal, let me formally introduce you to the sun," Oryx told her with a wide grin on his face. Storm was so entranced with watching the sun that it had only just occurred to her that Caracal wouldn't have ever seen the sun before. The little dragon was only a few months old, probably hatched at the beginning of winter in the arctic.

By now the top of the sun was visible, its burning light made it hard to look at but Storm couldn't help herself and was forced to look away several times. Since they were still close to the Northern tip the sun wouldn't rise high in the sky, it would stay around the horizon like one long sunrise. The further they got from the North, the higher it would rise. Storm wasn't complaining though and looked back at Oryx and Caracal. The little dragoness in his arms was asking non-stop questions while pointing at the sun and Oryx was handling it with aplomb. The scene gave Storm a flashback from her own past; it had been her first Spring Equinox and Storm was in her father's arms while he hovered in the air alongside her sister as they waited for the sun to rise. All around them in the air, and beneath them on the ground, the IceWings of the lower circles were singing one of the old songs in celebration of the rising sun.  
It was a bittersweet memory, and despite the stinging reminder it placed in her heart, it also made her smile.

It also made her think of all the fun stories her father would tell her. She looked back to Caracal and Oryx. _Perhaps telling them a story wouldn't be_ so _bad._

Eventually everyone began to land and Storm approached the two SandWings. "If you're not too tired would you be willing to hear my story?" she asked. The bright and awake eyes of Caracal were enough of an answer. Caracal was bouncing as the three returned to where they had made their beds. Storm glanced about anxiously to ensure none of the other IceWings were looking her way. Satisfied that they would have their privacy Storm began to retell the story she had heard so many times before.

* * *

 **A very long time ago, before the three moons hung in the sky and long before there were the seven tribes of Dragons that we know today, there was a dragon hatched in one of the nomadic Clans that inhabited the Northern tip. She hatched just as the last of the summer sun fell behind the horizon and the arctic was plunged into winter.**

 **However, as the sun disappeared below the sea a terrible evil was released onto the land and cursed the egg. When the hatchling emerged from the shell it was disfigured and monstrous with two long, winding necks sprouting from its body and eyes as red as prey-blood. Such a creature was nothing but an omen of evil so the Clan abandoned the nameless hatchling to the ravenous cold arctic lands.**

 **But the hatchling did not want to die. She turned her new eyes skyward and saw the streaming rivers of light that made up the arouras. Cold and hungry she followed their winding paths as they led her safely away from the wolves and bears which, at this time, were very close in size to an adult dragon. She followed and followed and followed the path until she came across a vast cave that was inhabited by three dragonesses. They were sister, and each of them were as beautiful as the stars in the sky and glowed just as gently. Most importantly, when they looked at the dragonet there was no fear or disgust in their eyes. Only warmth and pity was reflected in their gaze.**

 **"Young dragons," the smallest of the sisters spoke. "Why are you roaming alone? Is it not safe for hatchlings such as yourselves to be out."**

 **When the dragonet spoke their voices shook from the cold. "We were abandoned by our tribe. We followed the lights in the sky and they led to you."**

 **The largest of the sisters nodded. "They were right to bring you here. Now come inside little ones, we will care for you until you are grown."**

 **The three sisters raised the dragonet like it was their own and have them names. The head on the left was named Siv and the one on the right named Anka, as these were common names before the scorching. The two headed dragon grew to become strong and intelligent, excelling in fighting, hunting, poetry, mathematics and the sciences. But she never forgot her humble beginnings and how grateful she was for the help of the three sisters.**

 **When she was finally grown and able to fend for herself, she approached her caretakers with her gratitude. "If it hadn't been for your kindness all those years ago I would have surely died. How can I ever repay you?"**

 **The sisters thought for a moment before finally answering.**

 **"Do you see that mountain to the West? Within lies a magic orb that was stolen from us." The smaller sister said.**

 **"There is a spell upon that mountain that prevents us from retrieving it ourselves," spoke the second smallest. "But someone such as yourself, with a noble spirit and pure heart, should be able to retrieve it for us."**

 **Eager to show their gratitude and strength, Siv and Anka immediately agreed and set a course to the looming mountains.**

 **As they flew closer they could see massive opening on the mountains face that led into a cave. As they landed, a monstrous being five times their size greeted them. He was covered in feathers as black as a starless night but they did nothing to hide the outlines of the bones on his hunger panged frame. He had wings, but only two legs which were long and slender. The legs ended in a three toed foot with talons the length of two dragons. His eyes burned a deep orange and rather than a snout, a long, sharp beak jutted from his face like an icicle.**

 **He was large enough to swallow them whole but just when he seemed about to lunge towards them he paused.**

 **"You're as monstrous as I am," he squawked, observing their two lithe necks wrapping around each other.**

 **The sisters ignored the creature and, with heads held high they stated their intent to retrieve the orb.**

 **The Guardian of the mountain stood firmly in their path. "You must prove you are worthy to take the orb. Defeat me and you shall be worthy indeed."**

 **The two monsters fought for what seemed like an eternity. The Guardian used his massive size and strength to hurl boulders and smash at them while the sisters dodged and attacked his weak spots. Several deep gashes on the Guardians neck, legs and wings bled profusely and weakened the great giant until he fell to the floor in heap of bloody feathers.**

 **"You have done well," he croaked. "But now you must finish me off and claim your prize."**

 **The sisters jumped onto his large, unscaled neck, ready to slice the soft tissue and let him bleed out. But they hesitated.**

 **"We will not kill you. There was no honor in killing a defeated foe," they said and climbed of the great creature.**

 **"Are you sure? You must prove yourself before you can retrieve the orb."**

 **The sisters thought for a moment. They truly wanted to repay the three dragons that saved them, but to kill a weakened enemy went against everything they had been taught.**

 **"We are sure," they said.**

 **The Guardian smiled and instantly his fatal wounds were healed. He rose to his feet. "You have passed the test. You have proven yourselves to be intelligent and strong, but also kind and merciful. The orb is yours to take."**

 **The sisters rushed back to the North with the orb in their talons and proudly presented it to their three parents. As soon as the three sisters had the orb, they began to glow as bright as the moons, their eyes shone with the lights of the auroras and they grew larger and larger until they had to fly into the sky where they turned into three glowing orbs in the black of the night.**

 **At that moment the black winter sky exploded with the light of the new three moons. Siv and Anka stared in astonishment and also fear until they heard the comforting voices of their parents speaking to them in their minds.**

 **"Thank you, little one, for freeing us. We had been trapped in those mortal forms for so long we were beginning to forget what we truly were."**

 **"And because you have proven your spirit to be noble, we have a gift for you. From this moment on, everything you say will be made a reality. Anything you wish for, desire for or imagine will be made real."**

 **And thus, the first animus was made.**

 **With these new powers the two headed dragon returned to the family that had abandoned her. At first their tribe was terrified to see that they had lived and feared it was some demon returned to kill them all, but soon they learned this was not the case.**

 **Siv and Anka created many animus objects that benefited and helped their family to thrive. They were even able to convince other families to join theirs. Soon they were creating vast cities that were millennia ahead in technology and science.**

* * *

"They named the city Sivanka, after the creators and they lived in a golden era for many years. The End," Storm finally finished. _At least the end to the first part of the story,_ she thought but didn't mention this out loud. She was getting tired and wasn't in the mood to tell any more stories.

Caracal was snoring quietly while Oryx had a thoughtful expression.

"Hmm...well that story was...interesting," Oryx finally said. "Kinda weird but interesting. So what was the point of the dragon having two heads?"

Storm huffed. "It's a _legend_ , it's not meant to be taken literally. It's all symbolic."

"Sure, sure..." his voice trailed off, "...I was never any good with figuring out the deeper meanings in writing. I mean, just say what you want to say, authors! Don't make me spend an hour trying to figure it out!"

Storm ignored Oryx's complaints as she finally removed her armor and rolled out her bed. There was no point joining the other IceWings now as most were already asleep despite the rising sun. It would take a while before they would change their sleeping and wake schedules.

Despite the back luck she had experienced at the beginning of the journey, the sun's light was lifting her spirits.

 _Perhaps this is a sign that things will get better._ She thought as she curled up into a ball and listened to Oryx's chatter, but as much as she tried to relax her mind kept wandering back to the legend and the second part she had left untold.

* * *

 **Siv and Anka became respected leaders. Everyone came to them for help, but it was never enough. Their Clan mates began demanding unreasonable things. Why should one fear death when a magical being could enchant you to live forever? Why mourn those who have passed when you could bring them back?**

 **At first Anka and Siv refused these requests, but the pressure continued to rise and they began to consider if perhaps they _should_ create something to please their family.**

 **As the years toiled on, their views on how to rightly use their powers became warped and they began to meddle with thing forbidden to even them. Soon they created a cursed object, one that could bring back those who had already passed. The object was a sword and they called in the Sword of Resurrection. But this did not please the Moon Spirits that had given them their power.**

 **Realizing that they must put an end to this, the Moon Spirits acted quickly and sent a giant wave to swallow the city, sending all its inventions, libraries and animus objects to the bottom of the ocean. As for Siv and Anka, they were banished from the arctic and a curse was added to their gift so that, from then on, each time they used their magic a bit of their soul was taken as well.**

* * *

Instead of following the shoreline, the group of dragons had decided to save time by flying over the open water. They would fly in an arched path until they reached a region of the shoreline that jutted out of the dragon's 'neck' on the map. Once there they would take a small break to allow the SandWings to rest. They were still fairly weak from living in the arctic for so long and did not have much flight endurance.

A heavy fog clung along the beaches and on the ocean as the cold air from the arctic passed over the ever warmer land. The sun was also rising higher in the sky, but its warming influence was muted by the fog. They had been flying for most of the day when Storm finally saw their destination come into view. It looked nothing more than a smoky, dark grey line in between a grey sky and ocean, but she still felt relieved at seeing it. For most dragons, flying over open water for a long period of time is dangerous since you can't stop to rest or find your bearings.

Just as the group turned towards the land, Storm saw something move in the fog. It was coming from the direction of the open ocean. She finally recognized the shape of a dragon. Then the shape of several dragons. Within seconds a dozen dragons were heading in their direction, and by now everyone could see them. They were a group of MudWings and SkyWings with strange looking garments that covered their ears and black tinted goggles strapped to their faces. _They must be part of Queen Scarlet and Burn's_ _army_. _Perhaps they are just going home now that the war is over._ Storm hoped, but a nagging feeling tugged at her stomach. _Then what are they doing coming from the middle of the ocean? They couldn't have been returning from a raid on the Sea Kingdom, that's on the other side of Pyrrhia._

"IceWings, hold your formation!" the General called out. "We do not know yet if they are hostile!"

However, as the opposing group came within hearing distance their growls, hisses and poised talons indicated otherwise. In an instant both IceWings and SandWings were in battle formations. Storm felt a bolt of adrenalin pulse through her causing her heart to pound like a drum. She barred her teeth in a vicious snarl. _Finally, time to prove myself in a real battle._

But her concentration was suddenly severed as she remembered Oryx and Caracal. She looked around for them and luckily they were not too far away. Oryx was holding Caracal in his talons out in front of him and speaking sternly to her. Storm looked at the approaching enemy, she didn't have much time.

She soared over and didn't waste any time with pleasantries. "Caracal, you have to leave! Do you see that outcropping of land? Fly there. We will come get you when the fighting is over," she blurted out, anxiety making her speech quicken. Caracal's eyes were wide with terror and she tightly clung to Oryx.

The enemy was moments away now. "Caracal, listen, you must be brave for me, alright? We will come and get you, I promise," she begged. Caracal seemed to become a little more determined after hearing this, but still clung onto Oryx.

"She's right, Caracal," the SandWing spoke up. "It's the safest option."

Caracal looked from Oryx to Storm then back to Oryx. "Okay, I try," she murmured.

"Stay close to the beach so we can see you. Now go, quickly!" Storm ordered, and with one final frightened look Caracal fluttered off towards land. Suddenly the air was full of the sounds of battle. Dragons screeched as they crashed onto each other in the air, plummeting towards the water only to split apart at the last moment. Storm didn't have time to worry about Caracal, she had other pressing matters.

The first of these matters was a very large and very angry MudWing that was charging towards her, fire streaming from his maw. Storm dodged the fiery projectile, diving below it and coming up underneath the MudWing to head-butt his unprotected stomach with the long, sharp horns that covered the back of her head.

It knocked the breath out of him and Storm felt warm blood drip down her scales and onto her face. With the enemy stunned, Storm rose before him and whipped him across the face with her tail. He howled and fled while covering one of his eyes with his talons, blood leaking out from between them. Storm didn't have time to acknowledge her triumph as she was tackled from behind by a large SkyWing. The huge, orange beast was grasping onto her wings and forcing her to dive towards the grey, churning ocean below. Storm threw her head backwards, her sharp horns making contact with the enemies face and he let out a yelp. His grip on her wings was momentarily reduced and she acted quickly, swiveling her body around so that she was facing the attacker. They were now locked onto to each other and still plummeting towards the ocean. The SkyWing opened his jaws, ready to release a jet of flames right in her face.  
Storm quickly drove the heel of her front talons into his throat, causing the SkyWing to choke on his own fire. She then wedged her two feet between them and kicked out with all her strength.

The SkyWing was thrown off, leaving two deep gauges in each of Storm's shoulder where he had clung. Storm righted herself in the air just in time to pull up and avoid slamming into the ocean. The ocean mist sprayed her face and she climbed higher in search of her attacker. To her surprise he was several yards away and simply hovering in the air as if waiting for her.

 _Something's not right here, what is he waiting for?_ Storm quickly looked around at the battle and noticed a couple of things. The first was that these dragons had not been ordered to kill. Indeed, she watched as the MudWings and SkyWings as they baited her tribemates and the SandWings. They would attack long enough to cause some damage and then flee towards the ocean and cause the others to give chase. The other thing she noticed was that the land was no longer visible. Her battle rage quickly turned into panic. _They were leading us away from land!_ She looked up to see her SkyWing attacker smiling at her knowingly.

All of a sudden and without any warning or orders all the MudWings and SkyWings retreated simultaneously in the direction they had come from. Some dragons from her group gave chase, others cheered but thankfully none seemed to be excessively injured. She spotted Oryx hovering next to some other Sandwings, she saw a couple of deep gashes on his back but he had a stupid grin on his face as if he had single headedly drove off the attackers.

"The fog is coming from the land!" General Shiver called out calmly and gathered the attention of the dragons. He had bite marks on his neck and blue blood was dripping from a gash above his eye. "To find the land again we must fly directly into the fog!"

Storm heaved a sigh of relief. _At least SOMEONE knows what to do._

But just as they turned to leave, another obstacle revealed itself. It was huge, and at first Storm thought it was some sort of moving island. Yet as it continued to move forward Storm could see that it was actually a boat. It was wide and flat, more like a barge, and it had one massive fin shaped sail in the center and two smaller ones to either side. What unsettled Storm was that it was no scavenger vessel, it was dragon sized. _I've only ever heard about dragonships, I've never seen them myself! I thought they were only used by SeaWing Queens to transport large cargo and prisoners?_

The boat was easily forty wingspans long and twenty wide at the center. The attackers from earlier were flying around the boat, and they had been joined by others so that they now easily outnumbered the group of Icewings and Sandwings. They also all wore the same ear coverings. Stranger still, on deck there were dozens of crates filled with short sticks of bamboo.

However, Storm didn't get much time to look at them. From within their ranks a large Skywing, the same one that Storm had been grappling with, flew up to face her group. Storm was pleased to see that his shoulders were bleeding and a bruise was forming on his throat. He removed his ear coverings and addressed then, "My friends," his voice was grotesque and oily, making Storm's scales crawl. "Let us not waste life and limb fighting each other. You will not win. If you surrender, this whole process will be a lot simpler and less time consuming." He said pleasantly as if he were simply inviting them for tea.

The response he received was a unanimous growl of rage as blurs of white and gold surged towards him with claws ready. The SkyWing shrieked and high tailed it while Storm and her allies gave chase. He was heading towards the boat. He put his ear covering back on, and was frantically signaling the dragons to do something with the piles of bamboo stick in the crates. The dragons on the deck scrambled to grab the twigs, lit them on fire with their flame-breath and threw them into the sky before covering their eyes with their funny goggles and pressing their ear coverings tightly to their heads. Storm watched with curiosity as the flaming stick flew towards them...and exploded.

The result was like a shock wave. A series of mind numbing explosions sounded off in all directions and was accompanied by flashes of light.

 **BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.**

Storm's ears rang and her vision turned white. She no longer knew which way was up or down. Her sense of balance was thrown off as well and she struggled to stabilize herself. She saw something large and grey approaching her fast, but for the life of her she couldn't tell what it was. Only when she saw the foam and spray of the waves did she recognize it as the ocean. Regaining some control she pulled up at the last minute, her left wing skidding across the water's surface. All around here the other IceWings and SandWings were experiencing the same problem. Meanwhile, the MudWings and SkyWings were leisurely snatching up the plummeting dragons and taking them onto their ship.

 _How are they not affected by the sound?_ Storm wondered. She could also see that the effects of the explosions were not long lasting as dragons were beginning to regain control of their flying and had begun to attack again. Then a second wave of explosions sounded off. Still disoriented the effects were twice as bad this round. Storm clasped her talons over her already tender ears and slammed her eyes shut.

 _Great Moons my ears hurt! Where are the attackers? Which direction am I going?_ These questions raced through her head and distracted her from the fact that she had begun to fall once again. She didn't have time to stop herself and she plunged into the icy ocean. As the cold currents entwined her and tumbled her around Storm was able to come to her senses.

 _ORCA DUNG AND SEAL GUTS! This is SOOOO not good!_ Only SeaWings could take off from the water. For other dragons, it was impossible to become airborne again once submerged. Storm would have to find land or else she would most likely drown from exhaustion. Using her legs and tail Storm swam upwards and poked her head out of the water. Most of her tribemates and the SandWings had been captured, but from the corner of her eye she saw an IceWing with zig-zagging blue scales escape in the direction of the Ice Kingdom.

 _It's General Shiver! He's going to tell the Queen about this attack._ Despite the awful situation, it gave Storm relief to know that something was going to be done. Then, more **BOOM** s and flashes came from the sky. Storm quickly submerged herself under the waves to mute the sound and lights.

Nearby something small fell into the water. Through blurry sea-water filled eyes Storm could see it was some sort of stick. _OH! It's an explosive that didn't go off._ Storm reached out and grasped it and tucked it away under her armour. She would have to look at it later.

A couple of meters away, something much larger dropped from the sky into the ocean, bubbles and froth shrouding it from view. The sea water stung her eyes but Storm focused hard on the sinking object and was surprised to see it was a SandWing. She was even more surprised to see it was Oryx. His frantic clawing at the water was evidence enough that he was drowning.

She acted quickly, swimming up behind him and grabbing him with her teeth by the back of his neck. She knew better than to let a drowning dragon grab a hold of her. In their fear they often cling to their rescuer so aggressively that it can cause them both to drown. She pulled them both above water and Oryx started to cough and wheeze, but at least he was breathing. By now there were no IceWings or SandWings in the sky. They had either been captured or escaped.

 _Or killed,_ Storm thought morbidly.

She had to move quickly, they had not yet been noticed but there were dragons scanning the water, looking perhaps for survivors. The boat was beginning to move again too, its massive bulk creating towering waves that almost engulfed the two floating dragons. Storm looked around for any markers or indicators of their location, but there were none. Only the thickening fog.

 _General Shiver had said to go towards the fog, the thicker it was, the closer to the land they would be, s_ he remembered, yet she was still terrified. She couldn't see anything let alone how far they had been led away from land. It would be a leap of faith, but it was the only plan she had.

She looked around for the direction with the thickest fog, which was nearly impossible since it all looked equally dense. She took an educated guess and began to swim in that direction, using her limbs and tail. She tried to make as little commotion as possible, slinking past the searching dragons and ducking under the water as needed. Oryx was quiet the whole time and Storm figured he was probably in shock. Hopefully they would find land soon.


	4. Canyon and Lotus

If Storm had to estimate how long they had been swimming, she would say an eternity. Her wounds were stinging in the salt water, her muscles were aching from swimming against the currents and fighting to stay above the waves and her jaw was cramping from holding Oryx. The SandWing himself had begun to shiver a while ago, probably due to the freezing water. It was definitely night-time by now, and not even the moonlight could penetrate the stubborn fog.

Storm didn't know how much longer she could last as the waves were becoming more aggressive and her muscles starting to fail. But she just kept going, trying not to think about how much longer it would be. Soon she felt her talons drag across the sand and she could see the shore slicing through the fog. With her last but of energy Storm picked up the pace just as a large wave picked them up and threw them on a beach made of hard rocks and pebbles. Storm had to let go of Oryx as she landed face first into the gravel, but she had never been so happy in her life. Her muscles were burning and she hardly had the strength to pull herself up. Luckily Oryx had saved his muscles by not swimming and went to help her. They moved further up on the beach and collapsed. Storm's vision became dark as she passed out from exhaustion, the sound of the waves being the last thing she heard.

* * *

The first thing Storm felt as she regained consciousness was pain. Sharp pain, burning pain, stinging pain, she had it all. He muscles were aching furiously as she tried to pull herself into a sitting position but failed miserable and flailed back onto the carpet.

 _Wait...a carpet? Wasn't I on a beach?_ Storm's eyes flew open as she realized that she had been moved. From her position on the floor she could see she was in a small tent. The kind used by armies as they traveled in the field. It could fit at most two dragons. There was also the unfamiliar smell of plants and herbs and she felt someone placing a bandage on her shoulder. This new dragon did not smell like Oryx. Despite the protest of every bone and muscle in her body, Storm sprang up and caused herbs, bandages, and other medical supplies to go flying all over the place. She also heard someone beside her yell out in surprise. In her mind, Storm imagined herself turning to face this unknown dragon with a bold stance and a fierce snarl which would be followed by an intimidating 'Who are you and where am I?'

Instead, her fatigued and weakened muscles failed to pull her up completely and she tripped over a pile of blankets and landed on her face while exclaiming "BLERSH?!"

"Oh my Moons! Just sit still! You're going to hurt yourself even more carrying on like that," a concerned but rough female voice articulated and Storm struggled to understand what she was saying. Storm was pulled up into a sitting position as the room began to spin vigorously. She gripped onto the strange dragon for support before her vision finally became focused. Standing before her was a large female MudWing. At least a head and a half taller that Storm. She was definitely older, perhaps around fifteen. Her broad, flat head was covered with deep sepia coloured scales which ran down her back and outer side of her four legs. The scales on her chest were a vibrant mahogany while her underbelly was a lighter chestnut brown. Her eyes, however, were a pale pink.

"Great bouncing boulders, you're energetic for someone who almost died. But you're safe now, alright?" The Mudwing continued to sooth Storm while holding onto her firmly. "My name is Lotus, my friend and I found you and the Sandwing on the beach, and don't worry he is fine," she explained slowly, and while Storm was grateful for the information the pain was beginning to sour her mood.

Storm firmly wiggled out of the MudWing's grasp and nodded curtly. "Charmed. My name is Storm," she said as pleasantly as she could, but she was having a hard time remaining civilized. Not only was she highly suspicious of this MudWing who had suddenly appeared after the attack, but she also had a thousand questions running through her head in addition to feeling dizzy and nauseous.

Lotus seemed to notice this and passed her a canteen of water. "Here, drink some. You've consumed a lot of sea water. You're osmoregulation will be extremely dysregulated. You'll probably be feeling ill and dehydrated for a few days." Storm mulled over the string of complex words as she guzzled down the fresh water. She wondered what had happened to her own canteen and looked down to notice her armour, and her portrait, were gone.

"Wha...Where's my stuff?" Her eyes frantically searched around the tent.

"I had to remove your armour to treat your wounds. It's over there in the corner."

What Storm saw made her heart sink. The leather straps had been almost completely chewed apart by the salt water, and the metal buckles were already rusting. The armour itself showed damage as well, but it could have been worse. Still, until she fixed the leather and buckles she would not be able to wear it.

Storm rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms in frustration. _This armour has been in my family for two hundred years and I manage to destroy it in a day. Can I do anything right?_

Storm rummaged around in the pile of soggy items and finally found the pouch containing the portrait. The leather had held true, the portrait was undamaged. Storm held it close to her chest in relief. Suddenly the curtains to the tent were flung open and Storm saw the anxious face of Oryx. "I heard yelling so I knew you had to be awake," he quipped and then flung his wings around Storm who simply stood their awkwardly in the now over crowded tent. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Of course I'm alright! I'm offended that you are surprised," she retorted. "And what about you? Are you hurt?" She eyed a scratch that ran from his ear to his chin. It seemed that Lotus had already treated him as there was a thin coating of salve on it. 

Oryx brushed off her concern with a roll of his eyes, "I'm in better shape than you," he pointed out, and Storm hissed at him for being right. "Oh, also I found someone you would really like to see you." He said mysteriously and before Storm could ask the tent entrance was flung open again and a small, gold blur jumped at Storm.

"YOU LIVE!" Caracal shouted and wrapped herself around Storm's leg. Storm exhaled a breath of anxiety she didn't know she had been holding. She had been more worried about Caracal than she had realized.

"Yes, I am just fine. Great even," Storm told the young female while patting her golden head. The IceWing felt a glow of admiration for the young dragon. "I am very proud of you, Caracal. You were so brave yesterday."

Caracal at first puffed out her chest and gave Storm a bold smile, but it soon wavered and her shoulders sagged. "I has a secret to tell you," she whispered and Storm lowered her head to listen. "I wasn't actually brave. I was scared," she confessed, looking disappointed in herself.

Storm looked at the crest fallen Caracal and didn't need any nudges from Oryx to know she had to say something.

"Caracal...it's alright to be afraid. Fear is not the opposite of bravery. In fact, fear is a necessary part of being brave because. It means you had to overcome your fear in the face of great danger, which is what you did," she gently spoke. "If that isn't bravery than I don't know what is."

"Really?" the little SandWing asked and Storm nodded. Caracal's proud smile returned and she puffed out her chest again. She noticed Oryx giving her an approving look and even Lotus looked touched. She cleared her throat awkwardly, unsettled by the attention; she hadn't meant to make a speech, why were they still looking at her?

"Alright, as touching as this is I am going to have to ask you two to leave this tent. My patient needs time to rest and frankly this is much too crowded," Lotus insisted, gently pushing the reluctant Oryx and Caracal out of the tent.

"We'll grab you something to eat!" Oryx hollered from outside and Storm's stomach grumbled with hunger, begging her for food. It also gurgled with discomfort, warning her she would also likely vomit it back up. With the two SandWings gone she found herself suddenly alone with the MudWing again.

Storm narrowed her eyes at the stranger and reflexively flinched when the MudWing reached for her. _Oryx seems to trust her but that doesn't mean I should. How do I know she's not working with the dragons that attacked us? It seems strange that she is out here in the middle of nowhere...and did she mention a friend was with her?_

A million suspicious thoughts ran through Storm's head while Lotus gave a frustrated sigh.

"Look. I am trying to help you. If you don't want my help fine, but if you do then stop being a nuisance and let me heal you." The docile MudWing's sudden change of disposition stunned Storm. _This dragon has a bad side that I really shouldn't try to get on._

She gave a hesitant nod of consent for the MudWing to proceed and tried not to twitch too much. _I still don't trust you, though!_ she thought defiantly. Not that it made much of a difference.

Lotus seemed to have developed some sort of plan as she quickly gathered her supplies from where Storm had accidentally flung them.

For several moments they sat in silence while Storm gathered her thoughts. She thought back to the attack and the weapons that had been powerful enough to send dragons tumbling from the sky. _I've never seen those sorts of weapons before, they're nothing like the bombs I've seen used in the war thus far. They seemed pretty advanced. But why would they use those weapons now instead of during the war? Has the Sky Kingdom always known how to make these weapons? How did they get their talons on this technology?_

"I've never treated an IceWing before," Lotus suddenly commented as she chopped some leaves up. "I would think IceWings don't get exposed to plants very often. You don't have any allergies, do you?" she asked. Storm narrowed her eyes and shook her head, although she wasn't completely sure herself. Still, three was no need for this MudWing to know her potential weaknesses.

Lotus nodded her head and began to apply some disinfecting salve onto Storm's wounds. The strange smell caused Storm to release several adorably squeaky sneezes. Storm tried to hide her blush of embarrassment as Lotus failed to hide her amused smile.

For the next hour Lotus blended, crushed, administered and applied various salves, medications and ointments on Storm, who consistently asked about each and every one. On one talon she wanted to make sure she wasn't being inappropriately drugged or poisoned. On the other talon, most of these herbs were unavailable in the Ice Kingdom and Storm couldn't contain her curiosity. Storm had heard of some of these herbs from scrolls but now was the chance to actually see and touch them. Lotus patiently answered all her medicine related questions, and seemed to genuinely enjoy them. Just as she was finishing up Storm head sound of wing beats shaking nearby trees as someone landed in the clearing outside the tent. At first she thought it might have been Oryx returning, but when Lotus rushed out of the tent to speak with them, the voice was unfamiliar.

Storm pulled herself into a sitting position and held her head high just as the tent curtains were gently parted as a large SkyWing male entered. He was smaller than Lotus, but his muscular limbs made him the stronger. His scales were a vibrant red accented with deep orange, but perhaps what was most noticeable were the plethora of scars that adorned the front of his chest, neck and face but were virtually absent from his back. This indicated to Storm that this dragon faced their enemies head on, and did not retreat. She couldn't help but admire that. He also had a particularly nasty scar tugged at his lower lip, giving him a permanent snarl.

"So you must be Storm." His voice was deep and authoritative but surprisingly youthful. Storm had a hard time figuring out his age but guessed he was slightly older than herself.

"I am. Who told you that?"

"Your SandWing friend was very cooperative. He also told us your group had been traveling to the desert when you were attacked by a battalion of MudWings and SkyWings. I will tell you now, and whether you believe me or not is up to you, but neither Lotus nor myself had anything to do with the attack."

Storm narrowed her eyes at the Skywing and silently cursed Oryx.

"However," the male continued, "there are still some things that your friend couldn't answer for us, so I was hoping you could answer some of my questions."

Storm growled in her throat. "Well that's a coincidence, because I have a couple of questions myself. And frankly, I think I deserve an explanation as to WHAT IN THE MOONS IS GOING ON AND WHO ARE YOU DRAGONS?!"

The male regarded her with an unreadable expression for several moments. "Very well," he finally said. "My name is Canyon, and I am the Commander of the Skywing and Mudwing Western Coastline outpost. And you have already met my Chief Medical Officer Lotus." He nodded towards the MudWing.

"Excuse me but WHAT?" Storm exclaimed and Canton huffed. "Is this some sort of joke? If you expect me to sit here as your prisoner..."

"You are not a prisoner," Canyon butted in. "And as for your other concerns, how about this: a question for a question. You ask one, then I ask one. Deal?" he offered. Storm flicked her ears in annoyance but couldn't think of a good reason to refuse. _I guess it_ is _a good idea. But that still doesn't mean I can trust him._ She nodded her agreement, and they both left the tent to discuss matters outside where there was more room.

They must have been somewhere in the 'wastelands' between the Ice and Sand Kingdoms since the ground was dry and dusty with sparse vegetation. She could vaguely hear the ocean, so they must not be too far from where they found her and Oryx. The sun was also midway in the sky, indicating late morning.

Lotus was sitting outside next to Oryx and Caracal who had returned only moments ago. They had brought Storm back some lizards and a hare which she practically inhaled while Canyon spoke with Lotus about the arrangement.

The food sat heavily in her stomach, and Storm was thankful for the medicine that Lotus gave her. She then felt slightly guilty about how rude and snappy she had been to the MudWing.

 _I'll apologize to her later. But first things first._ Storm marched over to where Canyon and Lotus were sitting and decided to kick things off. "Alright, first question: What are a Commander and a military doctor doing alone in the middle of no-where and without the rest of your regiment?"

"That's two questions," Canton reported and Storm hissed at him.

"Well you've already questioned Oryx, so I think I have the right to ask multiple questions at once."

"It's only fair, Commander," Lotus agreed and Canyon grumbled his annoyance but reluctantly replied to her questions.

He explained how several years ago he had been put in command of the Western Coastal outpost that was used to monitor Ice Kingdom and Sand Kingdom activity. However, within three months of starting his troops had begun to disappear. He had reported the disappearances to Queen Scarlet with the desire for her to send someone to help figure out where they went, but she didn't comply. She would either ignore him or simply send replacement troops, which would also disappear. But now that the war was over and his remaining soldiers returning home, he had decided to look into matters himself.

"So do you think the same group that attacked us are involved with you missing army?" Storm ventured, but Canyon raised his talon to signal her silence.

"Three questions is the cut off. It's my turn now."

Storm rolled her eyes and waited for his queries. Strangely enough the SkyWing reached under his folded wing and pulled out the bamboo explosive that Storm had found in the water. She had completely forgotten about it.

"You little slime! You've been through my stuff!" She bared her teeth.

Canyon raised a talon to indicate he meant no offence. "It is my duty to protect those under my command. I had to make sure you weren't carrying anything dangerous or harmful."

Little snowflakes huffed out of Storm's nose but she withheld a sharp comment. "Very well, but that weapon is not mine. I found it when-"

"You were attacked.," Canyon finished her sentence. "Yes, the SandWing told us about it-"

"Yeah it was like thunder and lightning going off beside my face!" Oryx blurted out. He shrunk back as Canyon flashed him a silencing glare.

"Yes, you've told us all before but that's all you can remember." He turned back to Storm. "I was hoping you could fill us in on more details. Whatever was inside the explosive you took has been ruined by salt water. Did you see them making these weapons? How much did they have?"

"I didn't see them make any, but they had tons of crates with them on the ship." Storm described.

After hearing this, Lotus and Canyon began to anxiously whisper to one another. Storm heard something about like 'I think it's the same group" but it was hard to eavesdrop while standing at an unsuspicious distance.

"This is very troubling," Canyon said aloud, his eyebrows furrowing with worry. He scratched his scarred mouth while he thought. "Where would they get such technology?"

His question was directed more to himself than to Storm, he was just thinking aloud. _But if he doesn't know how they were made then perhaps this isn't SkyWing technology...but if those dragons weren't with Scarlet's army then who were they?_ Storm shook the thought away and jumped right into her next question.

"So what do you know about these dragons? Tell me everything."

Canyon and Lotus looked at each other helplessly. "What you just told us confirms that they are the dragons that have been behind the disappearances. Out of the few that were able to avoid capture they described a similar experience. Blinding light, loud explosions, everything you said," Canyon said.

"But other than that we don't know all that much honestly," Lotus added with an apologetic shrug.

Storm's ears fluttered as she thought. "So are these dragons just one of Scarlet and Burn's battalions gone rogue?"

Canyon shook his head. "That's what I had thought at first, but according to eye witness accounts there were often other dragons besides SkyWings and MudWings involved in the attacks."

Storm whipped around to look at him. "What? Which tribes?" Storm demanded, her interest in the story making her forget the one question rule. Thankfully, Canyon also seemed to have forgotten.

"Well, SandWings of course but also NightWings and some SeaWings," Canyon recounted and Storm withheld a gasp.

 _NightWings! Of course they would be involved!_ She lashed her tail. _Are they the ones behind the attack? It would make sense because they hate IceWing so of course they would attack._ Storm realized she was perhaps jumping to conclusions, but when NightWings were involved there was no telling what could be going on.

"So does this mean we're dealing with something that goes beyond the tribes? Beyond the war even?" Oryx addressed the whole group, and Storm was impressed at his deduction.

"Most likely," Canyon agreed.

 _I suppose they weren't a part of Burn's army then. But why did they just use Mudwings and Skywing? Unless it was to trick us. Then that means..._

"Uh-oh," Storm said aloud. "General Shiver, he escaped but he doesn't know any of this. He'll report to the Queen that it was an attack from the Sky Kingdom."

Storm began to frantically pace around the clearing. _Should I rush back and inform the General about the truth? But what would I even tell him? I hardly know the truth myself. If they think that Scarlet and Burn were responsible will they attack in revenge?_ Storm remembered what happened to the last couple of dragons that tried to kill Blaze, who was now in the clutches of this mysterious group. How far would Queen Glacier go to get Blaze and the IceWings back?

Storm stopped her pacing to realize she had been whispering to herself and that the others had been staring at her with great confusion. She blushed furiously and fumbled to explain what she had been internally debating.

Lotus and Oryx exchanged worried glances but Canyon looked deep in thought.

"No, I don't think they will attack," he said finally. "No one is eager to start another war. They will most likely send representatives over to negotiate some sort of prisoner exchange perhaps. I do not think you need to be concerned."

Even though Storm didn't fully trust Canyon she still felt relieved by his words. _He's smart, I'll give him that. But whether he is speaking the truth is another matter._

"Storm, I have one more request," the Skywing announced, walking over to her. "I would like you to show me the location of where your group was first attacked. I realize it was quite foggy at the time, but Oryx told me that you had initially been able to see the land. I just want you to show me the general spot."

"Sure, I'll take you there later today," Storm replied and was satisfied when Canyon made an uncomfortable face.

"I meant show me on a map," he clarified, reaching into a bag next to him and taking out an illustrated diagram of the Ice and Sand Kingdom and everything in between. "Besides, you can barely walk let alone fly. You cannot go."

"All I need is some rest," Storm quickly insisted, and then squared her shoulders and looked at the SkyWing. "Additionally, you have no way of stopping me. I have missing tribe-mates now too, so either way I plan on flying there later today. You can join me or stay behind. Your choice."

Before Canyon could argue Storm tipped her nose up haughtily and promptly made a dignified return to the healing tent where she then flopped on the blankets like a sack of bones. The exhaustion had returned threefold.

She then heard someone stick their head into the tent. At first she thought it might be Canyon making sure he got the last word in, but it was actually Lotus.

"Storm, are you sure about this? You need to rest. You really shouldn't be pushing yourself."

The MudWing's gentle concern punctured through Storm's posh act and her usual cool voice was softened in turn. "I must," she replied. "If I want to help my tribe-mates then I need to learn as much as I can, and I cannot trust Canyon enough to give me an honest answer."

Lotus sighed and entered the tent, her large bulk taking up the rest of the space in the small area. "Then let me make you up some more medication." She quietly gathered the ingredients and began mixing when Storm decided this would be the best time to make good of her promise.

"Uh, Lotus? I just wanted to apologize for my behaviour earlier, and to thank you for helping me," Storm said as curtly as possible and Lotus beamed back at her. They sat in silence for a while, the only sound being the rustle of leaves and the grinding of plants as Storm began to doze off.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him, you know." Lotus' sudden comment pulled Storm awake and she looked at the MudWing with curiosity. She assumed that they were talking about Canyon.

"He just wants the same thing as you do: to get his tribe-mates back. He feels it's his duty, that it's his responsibility as their Commander," Lotus continued.

 _Duty. Responsibility. I know all about that,_ Storm thought glumly, remembering the impossible task she inherited upon the death of her family. Reach the First circle within a year, get to a high ranking position in the military, carry on her family's legacy, start a family somewhere in there and finally die with honor.

Storm was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Lotus had left, the only indication she had even been there was a bowl of herb mixture that had been placed in front of her.

Storm quickly ate it, gagging on the bitter taste. She curled her body into a circle, placing her tail over her snout and tried to get as much rest as possible.


	5. The Order of the Black Talon

The sun was just beginning to set when Storm and Canyon decided to leave. The fog that had caused so much trouble in the beginning and been baked away by the sun during the day, leaving clear skies.

Storm carefully stretched her wings to assess their strength and was pleased to discover that, besides the scratch marks on them, they were without pain. _That makes sense; I wasn't using them for swimming so they shouldn't be as sore as my arms and chest._

She gave Canyon an affirmative nod and the two took to the sky. It was decided that the whole group didn't need to go, so she watched the figures of Oryx, Caracal and Lotus shrink and disappear.

Canyon had informed her that their campsite was further down the coast from where the IceWing and SandWing group had originally planned to make camp, so all they had to do was fly north until they came across land that looked familiar to Storm.

They flew in silence, their shadows flickering and following them on the beach bellow. Storm was preoccupied with her thoughts about the Ice Kingdom. Her short conversation with Lotus had got her thinking about all the things she still needed to do.

 _I will need to register to take the examinations to get into the third circle which will take a couple of months. But that's ok, I will use this time to study and train. The second circle will be much more difficult to enter; it might even take me five months. So far this is seven months out of twelve… Orca dung! I will only have five months left until my seventh hatching day at that point. Will that be enough to get me into the first circle? Assuming everything goes according to plan and I don't mess up along the way._

"Storm, you're going off course!" Canyon hollered and Storm was jolted out her thoughts to see she had been veering towards the open water. She quickly corrected her flight pattern and returned to Canyon's port side.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought." She murmured and the two resumed their silent flight. Soon they approached a section of beach that extended out into the ocean like the end of a spear. Storm immediately recognized it as the correct spot and informed Canyon and the two descended onto the gravely soil.

Canyon instantly began to scout the area and Storm watched with him with confusion, not quite sure what he was hoping to find. The battle had happened over the water, not on the land. She reminded him of this fact and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Well they had to come from _somewhere_. They couldn't have just burst out of the ocean. They must have some sort of land based outpost nearby." Canyon asserted and continued to scan the area.

Storm shook her head in exasperation and directed her gaze towards the ocean. While any dragon would agree that SeaWings are best suited for the ocean, Storm would argue that IceWings were second. Much of their prey came from the water: penguins, walruses, narwhals, giant squids, seals, etc. They were very good at swimming and Storm had always had a love for the ocean. Yet now she couldn't help but feel a thorn of fear sink itself into her heart. The memory of swimming for an eternity while the waves crashed over her, trying to pull her down and fill her lungs with salt water. While she would never admit it, Storm had been terrified. She had been completely helpless and vulnerable. _Come on, Storm. Swallow your fear. There will be no room for such foolishness in the First Circle._

Storm's thoughts were interrupted as she spotted something floating on the water. It was huge and approximately three kilometers off shore. It wasn't until the object turned to face Storm at a different angle that she recognized it.

Storm was nearly floored with shock. "CANYON, GET OVER HERE!"

Canyon, who had intently looking at what he suspected could have been either a set dragon or lizard footprints, jumped at the abrupt shout from Storm and raced over, teeth barred and claws ready.

"What? What's happened?" He looked around frantically for an enemy of some sort.

"It's the boat!" Storm gasped, pointing in the direction of the vessel. "The same one that was there during the attack. The one with my tribemates on it!"

Canyon relaxed as he looked intently in the direction that Storm indicated. "By my claws, you were telling the truth." He whispered, looking at the boat with disbelief. Meanwhile Storm felt it would have been completely in her right to wack him over the head with her tail.

"Of course I was! IceWings are always honorable." She boasted and Canyon ignored her.

"It looks like they made anchor for the night. Something must be holding them up. I am going to investigate it." He voiced and then flung a commanding expression her way. "You should stay here. This mission will require stealth and the more of us going the higher our chances of being caught."

Storm was almost inclined to agree, his argument just seemed so logical. She then remembered how he had tried to stop her from coming before using the excuse of her injuries. _He just wants to keep me away! Well too bad!_

Storm took to the sky and joined Canyon and his frustrated expression. "I'm not the one that's bright red and orange, it would make more sense for _me_ to go." She challenged, daring him to debate _that_ argument.

Storm waited, interested to see what he would have to say. Eventually he hissed in defeat. "We go together." Was all he said and the two dragons set a course for the boat.

It only took them a few minutes to arrive at the vessel, but the sun was already descending quickly. The moons were peeking up from the horizon and the first stars were appearing in the violet sky.

The dramatic shadows and dim light aided Storm and Canyon as they approached the boat. They quietly dodged detection from the various sentinels that had been posted on the deck. As they flitted about in the shadow of the boat an obnoxious clanking sound emanated from the left side of the ship and Storm could see a team of dragons on deck turning a giant crank. Canyon noticed this as well and signaled for Storm to follow his lead. He hovered below the bow of the boat, a blind spot for the sentinels, and latched onto the wooden side with his talons. Storm copied his action, her serrated talons securely puncturing the slimy and briny surface. She winced slightly as her sore arms protested at holding her weight but she gritted her teeth and bore with it.

"They're weighing anchor and setting sail, no doubt returning to wherever they came from in the first place." Canyon described. "I have no idea where it will take us. Do you still want to do this?"

"Of course!" Storm said without hesitation. At least he was _asking_ this time and not just shooing her away. The SkyWing nodded and motioned with his head towards a small porthole on the other side of Storm.

Storm slinked her way over and, hugging her wings in close and flattening her extra horns as best as she could, squeezed through the opening. She landed on her feet on the floor below and gave a quick glance around. It was a storage room. With the last rays of sunlight flowing in through the small windows Storm could make out the shapes of crates, chests and shelves that were cluttered about unceremoniously.

"Alright, no one's in here." Storm whispered loudly and after a few seconds Canyon plopped down beside her. He immediately began issuing orders.

"So, our goal is to get as much information as possible, as quickly as possible and as quietly as possible without getting caught. Got it?" Canyon whispered while simultaneously eyeing their surroundings.

"What about the prisoners? We should find and free them!" Storm hissed. She wasn't going to get another opportunity like this. It was now or never.

"Why don't you stop and think that plan through." The red dragon growled. "You'll free them, and then they will use the explosions again and recapture you all."

 _Ah, well. I guess I forgot that part._ Despite her best attempts to hide it, Canyon must have noticed the disheartened sag of her shoulders because he then gently added, "I know you want to help them Storm, but you have to be patient. You'll be helping no one if you act impulsively."

Suddenly the two dragons were thrown backwards as the boat lurched forward, the unsecured shelves tumbling on top of them.

"Ow!" Canyon exclaimed as he pushed off a shelf that had landed on his face. From the porthole above Storm watched as dragons rushed back and forth securing ropes and bellowing orders to each other all while the vessel began to aggressively teeter from side to side with the currents. There was too much commotion going on now, they wouldn't be able to leave even if they wanted to.

"Nothing to do but sit tight and wait until we reach our destination." Canyon sighed.

Storm nodded her head in agreement, but felt overwhelming anxiety rise in her. She may not be in chains but she was still a prisoner on this ship.

* * *

Storm's curiosity got the better of her and she passed the time looking through the various trunks, chests, and crates that were housed in the storage area. It was completely dark now, but they were able to find some lanterns that Canyon lit for them. With the dim light Storm began her search.

She found thousands of scrolls, but each only spoke of one out of two topics. A small amount were dedicated to the description and recording of animus objects and where they might be found. The other scrolls were of some old language that Storm couldn't read. But based on the illustrations they seemed to be folklores and legends with the majority of them featuring IceWing like characters.

Anything that seemed important Storm put into the pouch she was carrying that also contained the portrait.

 _There must be some connection between all this._ She determined while rubbing her temples. Deciding that she had had enough reading Storm moved on to the crates. She set the lantern down and investigated the box. It was made of plain wood and held together by crudely made metal pins that had been haphazardly pounded into to wood and stuck out in every direction.

The whole structure was weak and all Storm needed to do was slip her claws between the wooden planks and pull. At first nothing budged but then the top went flying and Storm flinched as it crashed to the ground.

Canyon, who had been sticking his head out of the porthole, turned around and told her to hush up, then returned his head to its previous location outside of the boat. Storm rolled her eyes and began to browse through the bounty within.

The crate was full of random objects that had each been carefully wrapped in protective cloth. Storm's talons buzzed with a strange energy as she unwrapped a mirror that was a slightly smaller than the porthole they had climbed through. She shrugged and placed it off to the side. In her search she found a feather, a glass goblet, and a pair of fire-stone earrings. Finally she unwrapped a beautiful tiara of silver with white pearls and blue sapphires. It was of IceWing design, it had little diamond snowflakes dangling from the rim so that they hung at the center of the wearer's forehead.

Storm placed in on her head and grabbed the mirror that she had first found. She was shocked to see how regal she looked. She shook her head slightly, letting the hanging snowflakes dance around like a flurry. When she returned her gaze to the mirror she did not see her reflection. Rather she saw herself batting a group of SeaWings. The Storm in the mirror was covered in blood and greatly outnumbered.

She dropped the mirror in horror, causing it to crack but not shatter and the image was lost.

 **What did she do** ** _now_** **?**

She heard a voice in her head that was not her own.

 **And what is she doing with that tiara on?**

Storm looked around frantically trying to understand where the source of the voice was coming from, but she could only see Canyon rushing towards her.

 **What's wrong with her, why does she look so afraid?**

Finally Storm understood and quickly removed the tiara. The strange voice in her disappeared and was replaced by one from outside.

"Storm? STORM!" Canyon cried, grabbing a hold of her shoulders and shaking them. Storm snapped out of her confused daze to see a severely concerned Canyon looking at her while she still held the tiara.

"Storm, what in the moons happened? Are you alright?"

Storm took a moment to compose herself. Her heart was still racing from the moment of terror and confusion that had overwhelmed her. _This is the lost relic of Queen Diamond!_ She realized. _She broke the rules and made this mind reading tiara during the war with the NightWings but…it's been lost for centuries. This must mean…_

"These are all animus touched objects." She finally whispered. She had just opened a crate full of enchanted relics!

Canyon gasped in dismay and grabbed the tiara from Storm's talons, throwing it across the room.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Storm shouted as Canyon proceeded to destroy the other objects.

"These are cursed objects!" He seethed. "Animus dragons are dangerous and everything they do leads to sorrow and death! They don't belong in this world."

Storm was utterly confused until she remembered that in the Sky Kingdom animus dragons were killed as hatchlings. Their gift was seen as a curse and their magic was forbidden. Canyon grabbed the mirror that was on the floor and raised it above his head to smash it but Storm whipped her tail into his stomach, causing him to keel over as the breath was knocked out of him.

"STOP!" She pleaded. She took the mirror from his grasp and placed it back into the crate. The goblet and feather had been destroyed, but the earrings were intact and hopefully so too was the tiara.

"We're supposed to keep a low profile!" She lectured while Canyon gasped for air, giving her a murderous look. "If they come back and see all their stuff destroyed they will know we are here!"

The SkyWing finally caught his breath and stood up. His anger had ebbed away and was replaced by shame. He kept his eyes down, refusing to look at Storm.

Storm's own anger began to disappear and she realized that Canyon might not be as in control as she had thought.

"Are you…alright?" She asked, unsure about how to comfort him.

Canyon's gaze became sharp and cold. "Yes. No thanks to you and your impulsive behaviour." He snapped and Storm was taken aback by the sudden shift in emotions. "I knew I shouldn't have taken you along. What were you thinking playing with those things as if they were toys. Are all IceWings this dense?" He sneered and returned to his position at the porthole.

A part of Storm wanted to argue with him, to call him out for his own failings, but a deeper part held her back. To her surprise she wasn't angry at him, she understood he was just lashing out due to his own shame and guilt. Storm could admit that she did the same thing all the time.

"Listen, we both messed up. But we can't start arguing now. We are trapped on a boat going to an unknown destination and we are surrounded by the enemy. We must work together." She advised, and was somewhat surprised about how good the advice actually was.

Canyon's shoulders rose and fell in a large sigh and he turned his head around to face and Storm could tell he regretted his actions. "You're right. I'm sorry." His voice was full of genuine remorse.

Storm accepted his apology with a dip of her head, but she was still curious as to why he had had such a violent reaction in the first place.

Suddenly the sound of approaching voices could be heard coming from outside the door of the storage room. The voiced stopped at the entrance while Storm and Canyon frantically ran around for a place to hide. They decided on a small space between a pile of crates and the adjacent wall that was just large enough for the two dragons to squeeze behind. They dived behind the crates, and Storm grabbed her exposed tail just as the door opened and two other dragons entered.

The crates were stacked fairly high so Storm couldn't see them, but she could hear them.

"See, look at this. I think one of them scratched me!" A female voice complained.

"I don't see anything. You're being dramatic." A male responded.

"No really, they're vicious. One of them even tried to trip me when I passed by! Can you imagine?"

"Let's just put this IceWing armour away and get back on deck. If we dilly dally the captain will have our wings. We have our talons full with these prisoners."

There was a large thud and clatter as the bags of armour where thrown on the floor and the two dragons made for the door, but Storm didn't hear the door shut.

"Hey, there's a lantern lit in here." The female voiced and Storm held her breath. She met Canyon's eyes and they nodded in agreement. At any moment they needed to be ready to burst out from hiding and strike these dragons down.

"It was probably Ash, that lazy son of a lizard. His lack of safety precautions are going to get us all killed some day-"

The voices faded as the two dragons left, slamming the door behind them and both Storm and Canyon exhaled the breath they had been holding.

"We need to be more careful in the future." Canyon grunted as they twisted their way out of hiding.

"Well, with all due respect this _is_ my first time being a stowaway." Storm replied and this comment seemed to make Canyon smile for some reason.

"Don't worry. Practice makes perfect." He laughed.

From outside the ship the bustle of dragons could be heard and the ship seemed to be slowing down. "We must have reached our destination." The Skywing assessed. "They'll probably come straight here and unload the cargo. We must leave now, while most of the dragons are still on the ship and preparing to dock."

They swiftly made for the porthole but did not take flight right away. Instead they stuck to the hull of the boat like lizards crawling up a tree. Under the cover of darkness the two dragons positioned themselves on the stern of the boat and then took to the sky. They followed the boat at a reasonable distance, the dim light of only one crescent moon the only source of illumination.

Soon an additional light source appeared in front of the boat, outlining its silhouette like an orange halo. They rose above higher in the air and saw one large island and two smaller adjacent islands come into view. They jutted out from the ocean like an enormous mountain that had been blown apart by some divine force and tossed carelessly into the angry sea. They were alit with numerous, giant torches as well as smaller twinkles of firelight that dappled the terrain but the majority of the illumination was positioned near a small harbour where the ship was heading. It created a garden of shadows that pointed in various directions.

"Is this…the Kingdom of the Sea?" Storm thought aloud. It was the only Kingdom she knew of that had islands.

"No, I think this is an unmapped area." Canyon speculated.

As they got closer to the island they could see there was practically no beach, the island abruptly ended with shallow, stone cliff. The turbulent waves slapped against the rocks, spraying salt water all over the two large docks that were attached to the shoreline. Another ship was already attached to the left pier and was currently being unloaded by SandWings, MudWings, SkyWings and Storm faltered in the air when she saw NightWings.

Her ice glands twitched in her throat and she held down a growl. She would figure out what the NightWings were up to and what they wanted with her tribemates. _If they put a single talon on any of them…_ She threatened although she knew she wouldn't be able to do anything without being caught.

The vessel that they had stowed away on stopped at an empty pier that was to the right of the already docked ship. As the dragons rushed about to secure the mooring Canyon signaled for Storm to follow him. He swooped down, keeping close to the water and ducked underneath the leftmost dock with Storm close behind. They positioned themselves on the underside of the pier. Using their claws they hung upside down on the slippery wooden boards which vibrated and shook with each passing dragon. Storm grimaced as her muscles let out a dull ache, reminding her of the perils she had faced just a day ago.

Despite the discomfort, their position gave them a good view of the deck where the newly arrived ship would be unloading. For a while there were only dragons running and flying about, nothing of interest. Then a familiar, oily voice rang out. "I want those prisoners out and ready! Priestess will be arriving any moment; we need to get a move on!"

Storm growled in her throat and was nudged by Canyon to keep quiet. On the deck of the ship a large hatch swung open and out emerged her tribemates. With manacles around each foot, clamps on their wings and chains around their snouts the prisoners were escorted onto the pier with no small amount of difficulty and arranged in a single line. The IceWings were looking mostly angry and annoyed while the SandWings seemed more worried. Storm recognized the fearful face of Blaze among them, and so did the captors.

"Well, look who it is! To think we would be honored with _princess_ Blaze visiting us on our humble island!" The Skywing mocked and Storm could see Blaze begin to tear up as surrounding dragons snickered.

" _Enough,_ Gnosis! That's not how we treat out guests here." A commanding female voice bellowed and suddenly all the dragons seemed to sober up and stand straighter. Gnosis dipped his head in apology. _So that's his name. It's quite a strange name for a SkyWing._ Gnosis stepped aside as a lovely female Mudwing with bronze and burgundy scales approached. "My apologies, Priestess, but we've captured the IceWings as you ordered." He oozed out.

Storm grimaced in confusion while her scales bristled. _They wanted the IceWings?_

Even from her position under the dock Storm could feel the strange energy pulsating from Priestess. The MudWing female was garnished plainly, with a few mismatched bracelets, rings and a necklace of silver around her neck. She also wore some sort of holster on her arm that was holding…a stick? Storm's ears fluttered as she thought. _It's just like that strange energy coming from the animus objects on the ship._ She took another look at the MudWings jewelry and the seemingly random stick attached to her arm when a dreadful realization came to mind.

 _Those are animus touched objects just like on the ship. Great spirits, they could be enchanted to do anything!_

She turned to whisper her observations to Canyon but when their eyes met she could see his grave expression. He had figured it out too. Now it was time for Storm to nudge Canyon as a growl emanated from him.

"Now let's take a look at you all!" Priestess walked down the line of prisoners, each one growling at her as she passed. She stopped when she reached the IceWings. "We've never been able to capture any IceWings before, but I am so glad you're here now and I can't wait to learn _everything_ about you." Her overly cheerful voice and made Storm twitch uncomfortably.

"We'd sooner die than tell you anything you wretched creature!" A voice from the end of the line suddenly called out. Prince Frazil had managed to break off the chain around his muzzle. It clattered onto the wooden dock and he gazed defiantly at the Mudwing. In an instant he was surrounded by spears and weapons aimed at his throat, but he didn't even flinch, and continued to hold his calm demeanour. Storm felt a twinge of pride at how brave her prince was.

He locked eyes with Priestess and she approached to stand confidently in front of him. _She must have some sort of object for protection, or at least one that protects from frostbreath._

"Oh don't be like that; we're not about killing here. Besides, I'm not asking for a lot." Priestess crooned. "I just want to know more about the Ice Kingdom's animus heritage. Your tribe was the first to have animus dragons so I am sure you can tell me about all the fascinating animus touched objects you have. Also, if you help me you'll be rewarded handsomely." This visibly piqued the interest of the prisoners. As if anticipating this, Priestess sprung into a passionate speech. "My initiates and I aim to revive the ancient knowledge lost during the Scorching. The legends tell of an ancient and hidden library full of wisdom that allows one to surpass reality and overcome death itself. To control the hidden forces of the universe." She jubilated and her eyes began to sparkle.

She now began to pace the line of dragons, raising her voice to address them all. "I offer you all the chance to join me! If you agree, you will become an initiate of the Order of the Black Talon. I will teach you the ancient wisdom of our ancestors that had been lost during the Scorching. By joining me I can promise you enlightenment. I can promise you _power_!" She let the offer hang in the air. While the prisoners could not talk, they glanced around at each other. Some looked intrigued, others concerned, and many defiant.

"Don't listen to her!" Prince Frazil bellowed. "How do you know she's telling the truth? She just wants IceWing secrets! Don't be fools!" This was quickly followed by a spear penetrating his arm and causing blue blood to trickle out. It wasn't a serious wound, but it was enough shut him up as he snapped at the dragon responsible. By the time he regained his composure, Priestess was standing right in front of him.

"Well _you're_ going to trouble, aren't you?" She said with the tone of a teacher speaking to a misbehaving dragonet. "Luckily I know how to fix this…"

She reached into the receptacle strapped to her arm and pulled out the small wooden stick that Storm had noticed before. It was about as long as Storm's forearm and made of crooked, grey stained wood that bent at random angles. One end was wrapped with silk cloth that functioned as a handle. It was obviously an animus touched object, and Storm felt sick with dread as she wondered what was about to happen.

The Mudwing reached out with the stick to touch the Prince, who leaned warily away. Unfortunately his restrains hindered his escape and the stick touched his chest. Suddenly his jaw became slack and his eyes clouded over to become pure black. The dragons next to him frantically shuffled away as they watched their Prince become transformed into a mindless body. Storm herself nearly lost her grip as terror stabbed her heart. _What has happened to him?!_

"Now, you'll behave won't you?" Priestess asked innocently.

"Yes." The Prince responded without a hint of emotion.

"And you'll cooperate? You'll tell us everything you know about the Ice Kingdom?"

"Yes."

A warm smile spread across the females face. "Excellent. I was hoping you would come around."

By now the other dragons in the line had eyes wide with fear. Priestess began to address them again but before Storm could listen in she felt a nudge from Canyon. He signaled that it was time for them to leave. With shaking talons Storm followed the SkyWing as they crawled upside-down along the pier until they reach the area where the dock contacted the land. They scuttled away while the Initiates were distracted by the spectacle with the prisoners. When they were sure that no one would see them they broke into a full sprint and didn't stop until the lights from the dock were completely gone.

In a small clearing full of scrawny trees and bushes that hugged a cliff they finally stopped, their lungs burning and Storm paced around trying loosen up her sore muscles.

"Orca dung." She swore while still panting and Canyon nodded his agreement. Once they caught their breath they looked at each other with disbelief.

"What do we do now?" Storm urged, looking around wildly at every minute sound.

"I…Well…Just give me a second!" Canyon barked and began to pace, his expression grim.

He was obviously flustered by what they had just witnessed, and Storm realized that she was acting just as hectic. She closed her eyes and tried to get a grip, taking in several deep breaths. _I have to be logical about this. I can't let my fear overwhelm me._ She lectured herself. _Easier said than done._

"We won't be able to save my tribemates, will we?" Storm reluctantly asked and Canyon shook his head, confirming her fears.

"Then we need to leave! We can't stay here!" She cried but she saw Canyon's jaw set as a wave of determination seemed to crash through him.

"Not until I know what happened to my troops!" He announced and Storm couldn't help but admire him even more. Despite the impossible situation he still thought of his soldiers first. He was an idiot for sure, but an admirable one.

"Canyon…even if you find them you won't be able to save them. For all we know they could be dead." She protested.

Canyon didn't say anything for a moment, but a spark ignited in his eyes and he raised his head defiantly. "I may not be able to save them today, but I will come back for them! But I need to know where they are and what I'm up against." He trailed off, suddenly looking heavy with burden. "And I don't think they are dead. I saw a few of them among the Initiates, so they must have been given the same choice as your group. Additionally, if that Mudwing is to be believed when she said that they don't kill dragons here, then they are probably being held as prisoners."

Once again his logic was sound, if not a little too optimistic. "Fine. What should we do?"

Canyon gave her a skeptical glance. " _I_ plan on gathering information. You should probably head back. This is more dangerous that I first thought."

Storm snarled at him and he jolted back in surprise. "I'll have you know that I am a fully trained IceWing warrior! I am more than capable of handling the situation! Besides, if I want to report to Queen Glacier about what is happening here then I need all the information I can get." She surmised, stiffening her back and tilting her head upwards in order to look as fierce and regal as possible. If she were being honest, there was actually a second reason as to why she had to stay: she didn't actually know how to get back to the mainland. They had taught her navigation in the IceWing Army Academy, but she was pretty rusty.

Canyon grimaced but yielded. "Fine. Just don't mess anything up."

Storm couldn't help but grin triumphantly.

"I'll follow the prisoners and see if I can find my troops and what type of prison they are in…and whether they are still themselves." The image of Frazil's slacked jaw, back eyed expression came to mind and Storm shuddered. "I'll also try and investigate this island's military strength." He said, and then looked to Storm. "As for you, I want you to find out as much as possible about this 'Order of the Black Talon'. Find some important dragon's office and loot their stuff. Files, plans, maps, military documents, anything you can find. We'll meet back here at sunrise." He ordered.

"And what if one of us gets caught?" Storm asked.

Canyon's shoulders sagged and he gave his reluctant reply. "Then they get left behind."

Storm gave a curt nod of understanding and in silent agreement the two dragons went their separate ways.


	6. The Temple

Canyon had gone back in the direction of the docks while Storm headed inland towards an area that was lit my numerous speckles of light. They were probably campfires but the fog made it difficult to be sure. Storm alighted on a small cliff that loomed over the area and allowed her a good view of the terrain from above.

It was a small town made of stone dens that had been carved to look more stylized. They had archways, windows, and many different symbols were etched into the walls. They were arranged in a spiral and the area between the dens was lit with torches that looked like metal trees, but were there would normally be leaves were instead flames. The dens spiraled around a massive stone temple that was illuminated by more torches that were the size of Storm. _By the Moons! It looks just like Queen Glacier's palace_! Storm noticed as her eyes took in the architecture. Indeed, it looked just like an IceWing palace with its twisting spires that soared up beyond the clouds. Each one dimpled with hundreds of tiny windows interspersed between larger ones that had balconies attached.

 _There must be rooms within them. That's good news for me._ Storm reasoned. At the front of the temple's base was a 30 wingspan high entrance that had been carved in a similar fashion to those of the smaller dens, but in a much more detailed and beautiful manner. Small images of seals, walruses, and narwhals seemed to swim around it like a current.

 _The temple looks like as good of a place to start as any._ Storm looked around for any movement within the town. Everything seemed quiet and still so she quickly glided down the face of the cliff and made a dash to the temple entrance. As she ran along the outer wall of the temple she made some mental notes. One thing she noticed was that the temple was old, way older than even Queen Glacier's palace. Moss and roots covered most of the carvings and many had simply been destroyed by the elements. _The Order must have found this temple and used it. I can't believe this has been here the whole time and the IceWings don't even know about it!_

Storm was about to go through the entrance when something above the archway caught her eye. She had to back up to get a view, and what she saw made her gasp. Above the archway was a symbol of a full moon with two crescent moons attached on either side.

Storm recognized them from the many old IceWing stories and legends her father used to tell her. It was the symbol of the three Moon Spirits from the legends. Storm gaped at the symbol. _Well this is mega weird. What does this place have to do with the first animus?_

Storm shook her head clear and put this realization off to the side so she could freak out later. Right now she had to get information. She entered the looming archway, her talons echoing on the stone floor. The interior was full of lit candles as well as statues similar to those carved on the outside. There was an elevated platform at the back of the room where three statues stood looking over the main floor. Storm recognized them as the Moon Spirits, and directly in front of the middle statue was an altar with a large scroll on top. Storm rushed over, trying to walk on her heels to keep her claws from making sounds on the floor.

She climbed up the stairs and grabbed the scroll, giving it a quick skim. _What in Pyrrhia? What is this nonsense?_ It was in a language she didn't understand, which was strange since all tribes spoke the same language…at least since after the Scorching. Storm also noticed that the top of the scroll was marked by a symbol of a two headed dragon, its two heads facing opposite directions and both snarling defiantly. Storm glanced around and debated taking the scroll, but if something this important went missing it would definitely be noticed, so she returned it to the altar top.

Storm felt a sudden draft emanated from behind her, it was cool like an IceWing's breath but smelled of dust and old parchment. She looked around behind her and got a small startled when the stone faces of the one of the Moon Spirits was staring back at her. She scolded herself for her jumpy nerves and investigated the wall where the draft was still emerging. It didn't take long to find that the source of the air current was coming from behind the statue. Acting on a hunch, Storm rammed her shoulder against the statue of the Moon Spirit and began to push.

First nothing happened, but then the obnoxious sound of stone grinding against stone echoed through the temple as the statue began to slide out of the way to reveal a set of narrow stairs that led upwards. It was pitch black, but Storm hastily climbed them and eventually reached a well-lit chamber that was equal in size to the main temple area downstairs. The only difference being that, instead of a decorated ceiling, there were several gaping holes leading into the hallow spires that crowned the temple. It was also where Storm believed the rooms to be.

Storm started with the closest of the spires. She fluttered her wings and reached the base of the tower, digging her talons into the footholds that had been chiseled into the walls. From here she could see that the spires were all connect via narrow tubular hallways. As she climbed further the rooms began to appear. They were fairly humble, having been carved out of the stone with simple holes in the wall as doors.

She gleefully realized that, whatever the original purpose had been for these rooms, they were now used as work spaces and libraries full of paper work ready for the taking. For several hours Storm scoured through the rooms, working quickly and efficiently. For the longest while she didn't find anything. Her frustration made her careless and she almost barged into a room that contained a dragon. It had been a female RainWing who was luckily asleep at her desk that was lit with dozens of candles. She was a calm shade of blue and snoring loudly. _By the Great Spirits, how many tribes are involved in this operation?_ She glanced at the RainWing again and huffed.

 _No surprise that a RainWing would fall asleep on the job._ Storm thought.

She had almost fled the room, but did a double take when something of interest under the dragon's drooling face caught her eye.

She approached warily from behind, peering over the RainWing's shoulder. The numerous candles on the desk provided enough light for Storm to get some idea of what it was. It was definitely a blue print depicting some sort of giant structure. On the margins of the paper there was written 'IMPORTANT: FINISH BY TOMORROW!'. Storm guessed this dragon had been working late to finish it on time and fell asleep.

Storm was unable to see what it was, but it was obviously important. _There is only one thing I can do!_

She inhaled deeply, preparing herself for the task. Ever so gently she slid a talon under the head of the RainWing and lifted up. She paused as the dragon's blue scales began shifting to purple. Storm had no idea if that was a good sign or not so she kept going. Using her other talon she quickly slid the blueprint out from under the head and gently placed the head back on the desk.

She approached the light and took a good look. It appeared to be a giant light house. The measurements indicated it would be as large, if not larger, than the temple! It was composed of three tapering tiers. The lowest section was square, the middle octagonal and the top tier was circular.

However, there were several curious things about the structure. The first was that it seemed to be designed to be mobile. Storm didn't know much about light houses, but she was pretty sure you were supposed to leave them in one place. The second abnormality was the technique used to emit light. The device was designed to fit only a single, small candle at the tip, but, through dozens and huge mirrors and magnifying glasses the light would be amplified to reach up to ten kilometers. _Wouldn't it just be easier to use a larger light source?_ Storm thought, but then again, she was no expert.

A talon suddenly gripped Storm's wrist and another yanked the paper from her grasp.

"Who are you supposed to be? What are you doing in my room?" The previously asleep dragon bellowed.

"Uh…" Storm couldn't think of a good enough lie so she just shrugged. "Sorry about this," She apologized before grabbing a pile of parchment on the desk and throwing it in the RainWing's face. The RainWing stumbled back in shock and Storm swiped her right talons in a hook-swing in hopes of knocking her opponent out quickly. But, surprisingly, the RainWing had been ready and lifted her wing up to block Storm's punch. Storm was tackled into a nearby scroll rack which shattered and splintered as the IceWing landed on it. Paper, wood and scrolls flew everywhere and she felt something impale itself into her back. The RainWing was on top of her now, putting all her weight against Storm's throat. With most of her weight being applied to the front, Storm kicked with her back legs and easily flipped the RainWing right over her. Storm was up in an instant, ignoring the new pain that swelled down her spine. The two dragons now were face to face and snarling.

 _This is going on for too long!_ Storm lamented. _Someone's bound to hear us if I don't end this quickly!_

Storm was forced to push her worries aside as the RainWing lunged at her. Storm dodged but the Initiate still sliced her above the left eye. Blood dripped down to obscure her vision but she could see the RainWing charging at her again. Storm feint a blow with her left talon while her tail swung in from the right and clocked the Initiate right in the jaw where it attached to the skull. She hit the floor, unconscious. Storm froze, waiting for any movements. When none occurred she relaxed, caught her breath and wiped the blood off her face.

The blueprints laid slightly crumpled on the floor next to the door. Luckily it hadn't gotten mixed in with the hundreds of other papers that were now scattered around the room. She hastily stuck it into her pouch which was already full from the scrolls she took on the ship. Just as she turned to leave she did a double take towards the window and saw the very first rays of sun changing the black sky violet. Storm fluttered her wings in alarm. _Oh SEAL GUTS! I haven't gathered enough information yet, I've been wasting too much time! I need to find Priestess' room._

Storm was already been through most of the temple, but she had a hunch that Priestess' room was at the top of the tallest spire. Her frantic legs pulled her up to these last few rooms where she shuffled through every piece of paper, turned over each object and finally flipped over the tables and drawers. Nothing. It was all dusty and untouched for years. No secret plans or useful information.

"This can't be it!" She exclaimed, tossing various tables and dressers aside in hope of finding something hidden. By now the skyline was emanating a gentle pink glow that would soon become orange. The sight had once filled with joy and hope, now it was an hourglass with the last few grains of sand falling to the bottom. She huffed and sat at the entrance to the room and tried to decide if she should just leave now. Her eyes wandered around the room as she tried to decide her next action when she noticed something she hadn't before.

On the stone ceiling of the room there was a faint outline of a large square with a double headed dragon symbol carved in the center. The same one that had been on the scroll. She traced the outline of the square with a talon and saw that it was a door, not a carving. _Maybe it's like the statues downstairs?_ She thought. Working on this intuition Storm climbed onto the ceiling, using her sickled talons to hang upside down. She pushed with her shoulder onto the door and it budged ever so slightly. Storm released a sigh. _This might take a while_.

Suddenly a commotion emanated from somewhere below. No doubt the unconscious RainWing had been discovered. They would begin searching the place, and here she was hanging upside down in plain sight. Storm hastened her efforts and used all her strength to push against the door until she heard the stone slab move. Grit fell into her eyes as voices from the approaching search party became louder. Finally the stone door popped out of the ceiling and Storm crawled through before hastily pushing the door back into place. It clicked closed just as she heard several dragons entering the room below. She didn't have much time before the dragons below realized where she was. Turning around she quickly investigate where she had ended up.

The gentle dawn light filtered through three large slits in the walls that acted as windows but were too small for a dragon to fit through. With the sparse light Storm to see she had entered some sort of study.

There were shelves lining all the walls, most had scrolls but many were also stacked with seemingly random knickknacks which, for all Storm knew, could have been more animus touch objects. In the center was a grand wooden desk with papers thrown unceremoniously about. With her limited time Storm decided to focus on the desk. She opened every drawer and shuffled through each paper.

 _No point trying to be discrete now._ She mused while stuffing papers into her pouch like a mad-dragon.

Storm opened the last drawer and found several scroll rolled up. She quickly opened one up to see if it was worth taking and to her surprise it was a map of the Ice Kingdom and surrounding land. She scanned it carefully and felt a boulder of ice drop in her stomach. It was an attack plan. _I…I don't understand. Why would_ _they plan to attack the Ice Kingdom?_ Storm shook these thoughts away for now. She had to keep going. Next to the battle plan was another scroll that had the same two headed dragon symbol as before. Storm was confused to find it was a simple scroll about animus objects but she took it anyway. _Maybe I will learn more about this later._

A sound at the other end of the room made Storm look up as she saw the stone door she had entered through begin to shift. She inhaled sharply and swallowed down her panic. Frantically she stuffed the maps in her pouch and swiftly gazed around for a place to hide. At the last second she ducked behind the desk just as a gentle rumbling signaled that the stone door was opening. She tried to steady her breathing as she heard the quiet clicking of talons enter the room.

"Search the place. The intruder couldn't have escaped the room," Gnosis' greasy voice spoke to someone else. A second later a female NightWing sauntered past without even noticing Storm. She was too busy looking around.

"Ooooh, I've never been in _this_ room before." She smiled and picked something up from the shelves. It was a round, glass ball that shimmered even when there was no light on it.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Gnosis yelled and made the NightWing drop the object. Storm used this distraction to strike. She sprung up from her hiding place and blew a jet of frost-breath towards the NightWing. Storm aimed not at the dragon herself but at the floor just in front of her. It created a mist of ice that caused the NightWing to stumble back into the shelf. Next Storm whipped around and aimed for Gnosis. He dodged her first hit but slipped on the ice as it congealed around his feet. Storm jumped over him and made for the door in the floor.

Not knowing how to close the door from below Storm improvised and used her frost-breath to freeze over the entrance with thick layer of ice. She paused for a breath. Through the translucent ice she could see the blurry image of a SkyWing and a NightWing peering down at her. She didn't stand around to wait for them to melt the ice with their flame-breath.

She placed her front talons on the windowsill and gazed at the skies to quickly make sure no other dragons were present. Satisfied that no one would follow her she took to the skies and flew towards her meeting spot with Canyon. The sun was mostly up by now and cast dramatic shadows over the terrain. Storm clenched her teeth with worry.

 _Canyon, don't leave without me!_

* * *

She reached the meeting cliff and looked around for the SkyWing.

"Canyon! Canyon, are you still here!" She called out.

The sun was well above the horizon by now and Storm could finally see just how stony the land was. It was more like a boulder with a thin covering of soil. The roots of trees were exposed and clinging to the face of the rocks with great determination.

But right now the boulders didn't interest her. She was looking for a certain red dragon.

 _I don't see him anywhere!_ She panicked. She had been too slow.

"You're late," An annoyed voice scolded as a familiar scarred dragon emerged from beneath the cliff.

Storm nearly cried with joy. "You waited!" She exclaimed and jumped down the face of the cliff to greet him.

Canyon didn't give an explanation but rather went straight to business. "What did you find?"

Storm proceeded to tell and show him the diagram and maps that she had found. She left out the details about the Moon Spirits and the two headed dragon. She doubted he would get the reference.

"I'm not sure about the light house, but it would seem that they plan to invade the Ice Kingdom," Storm proclaimed and Canyon nodded in agreement.

"I also think the plan somehow involves animus magic or something related to animus dragons," She informed him and wasn't surprised to hear him growl. "Canyon, I must return to the Ice Kingdom and inform Queen Glacier. You should also tell Queen Scarlet…or is it Ruby now… ANYWAY you should tell her about the hostage dragons and get her help," Storm added. Canyon was silent for a moment.

"I don't think it will be that easy," He murmured and then explained the outcome of his adventures.

He described how he had returned to the docks to see all the IceWings and SandWings had become mindless zombies like the prince. They were escorted to the holding cells, just as Canyon had speculated. What Canyon had failed to account for were the sheer number of prisoners that they had. In giant towers made of mud and dirt they were kept, but they didn't even need to be chained down or barred up. They were all mindless dragons, doing exactly as they are told. They were also being housed in what looked like a construction zone, with numerous stone blocks, wooden beams and other materials stacked around. "I think they are being used for manual labour," Canyon suggested. "Probably to build that contraption." He pointed to the blue print that Storm had stolen. "And as far as I know they might also be used as an army."

"But if we get the Queens involved we can bring an army back and-"

"Think about it, Storm," He interrupted. "These dragons have access to numerous animus touched objects. You could bring an army in, and they wouldn't stand a chance. Who knows that this group is capable of doing? Could you, in good conscious, take an army of tribemates into a battle with impossible odds?"

Storm sighed and closed her eyes. "Fine. Bad idea, I admit it. But we should still tell someone. I still think Queen Glacier needs to know. Especially if they are planning to attack!"

"Well you still have some time. It's not like they will get past that Great Ice Cliff that surrounds the place," Canyon pointed out and Storm look at her feet.

 _Except that they will soon find out about the hidden tunnel._ She thought, remembering the one they used to get the SandWings in and out. _I need to get back as soon as possible._

"Let's head out," Canyon urged, and the two took to the sky.

* * *

"I am telling you, I need to get back to the Ice Kingdom and tell the Queen! We cannot do this on our own, Canyon. We need help," Storm urged for the twelfth time.

"I know we need help!" Canyon argued back. "But making this a political issue will only make things worse. Bringing an army here for a giant battle is the worst approach! Pyrrhia just finished a war, they won't be eager to start another. I think that we should gather a small group of dragons and take them down from within."

"But it's our duty as loyal dragons to report back to our Queens!"

They both huffed in annoyance and flew in silence for a while. The sun was high in the sky and the sapphire ocean was stirring bellow them. Canyon was able to navigate them back, but it would still be a while until they reached the mainland again. Storm's mind began to wander, thinking about what this new information could mean for the Ice Kingdom…and for her.

 _As awful as this sounds, this could be my chance to raise my rank! If I were to bring this information back and help with the attack I am sure I would win the favour of the Queen. She might even put me in the second circle!_ At this point she knew she was being overly optimistic and no doubt desperate. It would be more honorable for her to take the tests fairly, just as everyone else had before her. Her sister hadn't relied on winning anyone's favour. She had succeeded on her skill and intelligence. Storm let out a sigh of frustration. _I know I can pass the tests! I am strong, clever and have the will, but… what would it get me in the end? An empty house in the first circle?_

Storm shook her head again. _No. I will succeed! It's what my family would have wanted._

She stopped her frenzied thinking to see the Canyon was giving her a strange look. "Are…you alright?" He asked. "You seem to be thinking pretty hard about something."

"I'm fine," She snapped. "I was…just thinking about my family. That's all."

A moon globe seemed to go off in his head and he smiled knowingly. "Ah yes, your family. Now I see why you're so eager to get back to the Ice Kingdom. You must miss them."

Storm didn't say anything but narrowed her eyes. What suddenly made him so confident in his assessment of her feelings?

Storm's suspicion must have been obvious since Canyon finally confessed. "I looked through your things while you were unconscious and saw the portrait of your family. You must really love them to carry around their picture."

Storm growled. "Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me you did that YOU LITTLE WORM!"

Canyon gave her an apologetic but stern look. "I'm sorry I invaded your privacy but I had to know if you were a threat. Also…I assume the tiny dragonet must have been you." He grinned at her and she hissed back.

"But you must miss your family anyway," He continued, still smiling.

"They're dead."

She heard Canyon gasp. "I'm so sorry, Storm. I truly am. It must be devastating to lose them."

"It's fine," She lied. "And everything will be fine as long as I get to the First Circle. It's what they would have wanted." Storm bit her tongue as she realized she was probably just rambling. Canyon wouldn't understand what getting to the First Circle meant for her.

Silence hung between them for a little while longer until Canyon spoke up again.

"Now, I don't mean to be rude…" Canyon began and Storm knew he was about say something rude. "…but you seem to living your life based on what you think _they_ would want without thinking about what _you_ want. Isn't there anything you've always wanted to do?"

The first thing that came to mind was her hatchling-hood dream of being a treasure hunter and scholar extraordinaire. She had imagined herself to be the dragon to find the lost city of Sivanka and share the once lost knowledge with everyone. She shook away the foolish fantasy.

"Alright, first of all, mind your own business and secondly, it's not about what _I_ want. I'm the last of my family so it's up to _me_ to protect their legacy," Storm explained and became even more enraged when Canyon raised a skeptical brow.

"And what kind of legacy are you upholding by doing all this unnecessary work? The legacy of being rich and fancy in your aristocratic home surrounded by a bunch of other snobs? I assure you, I know more about IceWings than you think."

Storm bit back both an offended snort and a laugh. That was actually a pretty good summary of the First Circle. But despite her growing irritation Storm felt the need to explain herself to this opinionated dragon.

"That is NOT why I am doing all this. My mother's family has come from the First Circle for generations, but my mother…well, she willingly left the First Circle to be with my father and now I only have a year left before my permanent ranking is determined, so I have to reach the First Circle by then," She summarized as if explaining it to a hatchling, but she couldn't ignore the lump in her throat. It was the first time she had ever spoken to someone about this and she was shocked to find out many emotions were brewing inside of her. Storm had never been as good as other IceWings for controlling her emotions.

"Again, your goals are just based on what your family want you to do. Why are you even putting yourself through all this trouble?"

She was losing her patience with him. "I am doing it because I love them!" She snarled and her voice cracked. She paused. "And because it would have made them proud."

She discretely took a couple of deep breathes to calm herself and saw that Canyon was looking at her differently now. He turned away with a thoughtful expression while Storm to regain control of her emotions. Storm clenched her jaw. _Orca dung, why can't I just shut up!_

"How do you know you haven't already made them proud?" Canyon abruptly asked and Storm scoffed. Everything she had done so far has been unexceptional and, by IceWing standards, very minimal.

"I assure you, my accomplishments are by no means worthy of anything spectacular."

"Well you saved that hatchling's life. He was telling me how you rescued him from drowning. He thinks very highly of you, and so does Caracal. The whole time you were unconscious he was worried sick and wouldn't stop pestering Lotus while she tended you," Canyon explained and Storm was struck silent by the comment. She felt a soft glow of affection towards the SandWing rise in her chest which chased away the previous aches of grief.

She hadn't really thought of Oryx as a hatchling, but as a four year old dragon she supposed he technically was. _He's very mature to by taking care of Caracal when he himself should still be with his parents._

Unease suddenly filled Storm. _Before he had the rest of the SandWings to watch out for him, now he's all by himself. Will he be alright?_

Storm shook these thoughts from her head. She had to focus on getting back to the Ice Kingdom. Her tribe was in danger.

"I'm still going back to the Ice Kingdom," Storm announced and Canyon huffed in annoyance. Frankly, Storm was getting annoyed with his attitude. "What's so wrong with wanting to go home?" She challenged. "Don't you want to return to the Sky Kingdom? Don't you have any family that you miss?"

Storm immediately regretted her question. _Uh-oh. What if his family is dead as well?_

Canyon's expression suddenly became cold and distant. "My family doesn't want to see me. I wouldn't be welcomed," He murmured.

Storm gave him a puzzled look. A part of her was curious as to what had occurred to drive this rift in his family. Another part didn't understand why it mattered.

"Canyon…they're your family. I really don't understand what could have been so awful that they don't want to see you, but I know I would do anything to get my family back. You can't just push them away!"

Canyon began to growl in his throat. "You wouldn't understand! Someone…someone very important died because of what I did," He admitted with a pained expression that reached Storm's heart.

"I made a mistake, and they are right to blame me. And now I have to redeem myself by getting my tribemates back. I will not abandon them." He continued to confess and Storm couldn't help but think it was a strange mind set to have. _He's full of guilt and self-blame. That can't be healthy._

Before Storm could investigate further the mainland came into sight. The two dragons swept down low and followed the coastline until Canton spotted their small camp and three anxious dragons sitting about. It had taken them most of the day to return to mainland and the sun was peaked in the sky, indicating noon.

Besides feeling a little hungry Storm didn't feel too exhausted from their adventure. She had been fortunate to sleep for a while before they left. Canyon, on the other talon, looked haggard and grouchy. This didn't stop the barrage of questions and reprimands that greeted them at the camp.

"We thought you were dead! AGAIN!" Oryx cried. "You can't keep scaring me like this, Storm. You're taking years off my life! Look, I think some of my scales are falling off from stress."

Storm rolled her eyes at the dramatic male while Caracal clung to her front leg, grinning up at her.

"You must tell us what happened," Lotus urged while checking them over for injuries. In the next hour both Storm and Canyon recounted to the best of their abilities everything they had seen and learned and Storm brought out all the scrolls she had stolen. Both Oryx and Lotus asked plenty of questions. For some reason Lotus seemed most interested in Priestess, asking about her appearance and mannerisms. Each answer was followed by a thoughtful and worried expression on her face. Oryx, on the other talon, seemed more concerned with the 'zombie' dragons. Meanwhile, Caracal had become bored and had begun to play in the dirt nearby.

"We can't just sit and do nothing," Lotus finally voiced.

"Indeed," Canyon agreed. "I suggest that we gather a small force, infiltrate this 'Order of the Black Talon' and take it down from the inside." He pounded his fist on the ground with determination.

"Well I am returning to the Ice Kingdom and telling Queen Glacier about this group," Storm announced and winched at Oryx's hurt expression.

"So…you're leaving? When?" He asked urgently and Storm's heart felt heavy at his desperate expression. _What am I doing leaving him to fend for himself?_

She pushed this thought away. "I think I'll leave tomorrow morning," She informed him and saw his wings droop.

"But…I'll be back," She stammered out unexpectedly. "Once I get aid from the Queen I will come back for you. We'll need all the help we can get."

Storm didn't know why she had said that. She had no intention of putting Oryx or Caracal in any more danger than they had already been exposed to.

 _You're a sentimental fool, Storm!_ She scolded herself. No IceWing worthy of the First Circle would go out of their way to protect the delicate feelings of some SandWing orphan.

But seeing Oryx's face light up and his silly grin return made her feel like a moon globe was in her chest, lighting her up from the inside out. Maybe it wasn't so bad being sentimental.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky when Storm decided to go hunting. Oryx and Caracal had curled up for the night, but if she planned to leave for the Ice Kingdom tomorrow she didn't want to waste time hunting in the morning.

Unfortunately she did not have much luck. Her reflective scales always gave her away. She kept tripping on twigs and rocks and her impatience was growing. After missing a lizard and slamming her head into a rock she heard someone laughing behind her. She whipped around and snarled at the dragon who dare mock her. Unsurprisingly it was Canyon, who sat a few feet away on a boulder, laughing, and not even trying to hide it.

"I thought you went to sleep for the night," Storm growled, failing to hide her blushing face.

"I had a short nap. But I got hungry so I thought I would find where you went off to and join you." He leaped down from the boulder and walked towards her.

"Besides, it looks like you could use some help." He grinned smugly and Storm hissed at him but didn't refuse his offer. This only made Canyon even smugger.

As they left the small clearing Canyon gave Storm a thoughtful expression. "You did the right thing. With Oryx and Caracal I mean. It's good that you aren't leaving them." He paused for a moment and ducked his head timidly.

"And…thanks for coming along with me," He finally said, referring to their adventure the previous night.

Storm dipped her head in acknowledgment. "Of course I went. In all honesty I should be the one thanking you for joining _me_ ," She insisted which made Canyon laugh again. She had meant it as a serious remark but she supposed it wasn't _so_ awful to make him laugh. Silhouetted against the setting sun the two dragons then took to the sky in search of prey.


	7. The Pirate Queen

Storm went to sleep that night with a full stomach. When they returned to camp she saw everyone besides Canyon and herself asleep. Storm had given her polar bear fur blanket to Caracal and Oryx to use for the night so, without a bed, she chose a clearing of soft sand somewhat distant from the group to curl up. But within a few minutes Oryx and Caracal migrated towards her and eventually flopped on top of her. She tried to ignore the uncomfortable heat they were giving off and the snoring in her ear. However, her difficulties falling asleep that night were internal in their source.

 _Am I making the right decision by leaving these two? Will they be ok on their own? They're both still so young but…_

 _No! I must leave. My family comes before anything else and I_ do _have to warn the Ice Kingdom..._

 _But if anything were to happen to Oryx and Caracal…_

Storm shook her head in frustration. Moving gently, she removed the portrait from the pouch and opened it up. The clear eyes of her family stared back at her. "You know what you have to do." They seemed to say.

Storm's jaw set and she put the portrait back. _Yes, I know what I must do._

Carefully she slithered out from underneath the sleeping dragonets. She would leave now. She snuck into the healing tent and gathered her armour. She was dismayed to find that the salt water corrosion had caused further damaged. Her shoulders sagged; it would be cheaper to repair the armour rather than buying a new set, but it would look a lot uglier than it already did.

She found and empty canvas bag nearby and stuffed the armour in, flinching every time the metal clinked together. She peeked outside to see everyone was still asleep. She carefully tied the bag onto her back and made her way out of camp. She almost looked back, but scolded herself and continued on. She had barely walked three meters when she heard a suspicious snapping of dry twigs nearby and someone curse. She quickly glanced back towards the campsite to see none of the sleeping dragons were following her. Gently putting down her bag of armour she approached the sound which had come from within a shallow ditch to her left.

She prowled low and warily glanced in to find a nervous looking SeaWing glancing back at her. His scales were mostly the colour of algae with flecks of conifer green. What was even more surprising was what he wore. Besides the overabundance of jewelry he also wore around his arm a red bandana with the black silhouette of a magpie wearing a crown.

Storm bit back a huff of annoyance. _Well I guess I'm not going anywhere now. Not until I make sure this dragon isn't a threat to the others._

"Remain where you are SeaWing!" Storm ordered, barring her teeth and puffing out her chest to look larger. "You are hereby my prisoner and-" Storm's commanding speech was cut short as the SeaWing lunged at her. Storm ducked out of the way just in time but right as Storm was about to employ an attack, a net was launched on top of her from behind. It tangled her wings and legs, forcing her to flail on the ground.

She roared her anger and clawed at the rope bindings. She then heard the voices of her friends from the campsite. They were shouting and cursing as more SeaWings emerges from hiding and pounced on the sleeping dragons.

 _It's an ambush!_ She realized with dismay. _Well they have another thing coming if they think I will be so easily defeated!_

Storm exhaled her deadly frost-breath at some nearby SeaWings. They easily dodged out of the way, but more importantly she had frozen the rope and weakened its structures. It easily snapped when she pulled on it. She continued to do this for the rest of the net when she heard someone yell, "Stop her already!"

She staggered back as she was bludgeoned on the side of her head and everything went black.

* * *

The first sense that returned to Storm was her hearing. She could hear the gentle lapping of water and familiar voices. Next a sharp pain exploded from her left temple and quickly spread to cause a pounding headache. The pain was so demanding that it took Storm several moments to realize she was laying on some cold, damp and slimy surface that reeked of rotting seaweed and sea salt.

She groaned and tried to rise to her feet.

"She's awake!" Someone called out.

"Storm, just take it easy. Don't make any sudden movements," Someone else advised and Storm grumbled some unintelligible retort.

"YOU'RE ALIVE!" A voice squeaked and she felt something warm hug her leg.

Her eyes blinked open and she could finally see her friends staring at her with concern. She was also surprised to find they were in a prison cell. It consisted of a small room that was made of rotten wooden planks that were covered in algae and barnacles. At the front were iron bars of equal condition. The smell of decaying seaweed was now overwhelming and Storm could see the ocean directly below them through the planks. It was so close that any small waves that passed by caused their prison to sway along with it as if they were floating. The only light came from the rays of the sun that squeezed through the cracks in the roof. _What in Pyrrhia happened? Where are we?_

"We were kidnapped," Canyon suddenly said, predicting her questions and helping her to her feet. She could see he had a few new scratches on his face and chest that seemed deep but were no longer bleeding.

"BY PIRATES!" Oryx exclaimed and Storm wasn't sure if he looked terrified or excited.

Storm was glad to see Oryx didn't appear to hurt, and she looked down to her leg to see that Caracal was unharmed as well.

Storm's attention was quickly stolen away as a wave of pain crashed through her skull. She gingerly felt the wound on her head. Sparks flew before her eyes when she touched it and quickly withdrew her talons to see blood on them.

"I requested they give us some medical supplies but they refused," Lotus hissed.

Storm tried to collect her thoughts and make sense of all this. "Wait, did someone say _pirates_?" She asked.

"Your guess is as good as ours." Canyon shrugged, once again predicting her question. "They netted us all and threw us in here without any explanation."

 _Just when I had my plan figured out I just HAD to get kidnapped by pirates. Now how am I going to get these documents to Queen Glacier?_ Storm unconsciously grabbed for her pouch and gasped when it wasn't strapped to her chest. She started searching around their prison cell in desperation, but it wasn't the documents she truly cared for. _The portrait! No no no it can't be gone!_

She also noticed that her bag of armour was nowhere to be found either.

"Where is all my stuff? Did any of you see them take my armour?" She cried, but the response came from outside the cell.

"You mean that sack o' rusty metal?" A raspy voice appeared which made the prisoners jump. A thin SeaWing with scales the colour of moldy seaweed stepped into the light. Much like the first SeaWing Storm had found in the ditch, he wore plenty of jewelry and the same bandana.

"We threw it in the ocean. Thought it was garbage."

Storm's heart dropped to her stomach.

"How dare you!" She roared and gripped the bars of the cell to look him in the eye. "That armour has been in my family for centuries!"

"Yeah, you could tell," He scoffed.

She put her talons through the bars and tried to claw at him. "YOU SLIMY, DISGRACEFUL EXCUSE FOR A-"

Her insult was interrupted by Canyon as he pushed her aside with his wings. She was caught by Lotus who then tried to calm her down.

"Why did you capture us?" Canyon demanded and the SeaWing mocked him with an innocent shrug.

"It weren't my decision. You'll have ta ask Queen Magpie," He said while taking out four sets of chains and manacles from a bag he had brought with him.

"Uh, excuse me, but what are those for?" Oryx timidly peaked over Canyon's shoulder and the SeaWing gave him a menacing grin that displayed all his rotting teeth.

"The Queen has a very specific dress code for prisoners that wanna speak with her."

"So we have an audience with her?" Canyon perked up at the information.

"So long as you behave yourself and don't give us no trouble, then yeah." Their captor then motioned for two nearby SeaWings to come and help him, and Storm recognized the algae green dragon from earlier.

They opened the prison bars and placed heavy manacles on the dragons as well as chains around their muzzles. Lotus and Canyon remained calm and gracefully allowed themselves to be chained. Oryx shook slightly as he was bound. As for Caracal, she was so tiny they only put one manacle around her torso and the little dragonet held on tightly to Oryx.

When they approached Storm she sat as elegantly and dignified possible, but growled at the raspy voiced dragon as he placed the shackles on her.

"Now you watch it!" He hissed. "Or else you'll have a second blow to the head to match that one." He touched her head wound with his wing thumb and she gritted her teeth to hide the pain.

He then grabbed her face and brought it close to this own, examining her. Storm pulled away defiantly but he held her chin painfully in place.

"Such a lovely thing you are. Like diamonds and amethyst. Too bad about that nasty attitude though." His breath was foul and Storm growled at him as her scales crawled with revulsion. _What a disgusting worm!_ She heard Canyon growling close by as well.

"Sponge! Leave her alone why don't ya?" The algae green dragon Storm had first seen in the ditch came over and pushed the seaweed coloured dragon away.

"Oh come on, Ray. It was just a little fun!" He cackled and Ray turned to Storm with an apologetic shrug.

The group of dragons were then paraded through a small town on water; the walkways and dens were made of wood that floated on the ocean. Dragons, mostly adult SeaWings, laughed and taunted them as they passed but Storm kept her head up and looked ahead. Storm guessed there were enough Seawings here to make an army. _This can't be the Kingdom of the Sea. It's too…revolting._

Crabs and lobsters scuttled around like rats, crawling back into the ocean as they walked by. Not a single structure in the 'town' looked well-kept or even all that nice. Everything was soggy and sagged with the weight of algae and rot.

They finally reached the center of the town to be greeted with yet another wooden den. This one, however, was five times larger than the others and had three stories on it. Its size and grandeur would have made it an acceptable house for a lower ranking First Circle IceWing since it was practically a little palace. Storm could see grand windows and balconies on each floor and there was evidence of it having once been painted a nice blue. However, it now slouched in defeat, the salty air having eaten away at its beauty.

They were pushed ahead and entered the giant oak doors of the building and Storm's jaw would have dropped if it had not been chained. The inside was a total contrast. Chests upon chest of treasure filled the room that was easily the length of fifteen dragons. Jewelry of gold and silver, diamonds, crowns, and gems of every kind and size poured out of the overstuffed boxes and trunks so that the floor was carpeted with gold coins and tiny gems that got embedded in Storm's feet. The high ceiling held a crystal chandelier that illuminated the treasure.

"Alright, enough lookin'! Keep walking!" Sponge ordered and they went up a majestic and massive set of carpeted stairs that was in the center of the room. The second floor was just the same, full of priceless artifacts. The third and final floor did not follow the same pattern. There were several trunks of treasure, but they were pushed along the sides of the room next to racks of scrolls. At the end of the room, before the grand window that led to the balcony, an aquamarine female SeaWing sat at a desk looking at scrolls. She wore a crown of silver embellished with white, pink and blue pearls. Her talons were decorated with rings and she wore a medallion around her neck. As they approached the desk Storm saw that the medallion was the silhouette of a magpie wearing a crown. _That must be their Queen…but I don't think this is Queen Coral._ She choked on a gasp when she noticed that the scrolls being examined by the Queen were the one's Storm had taken.

 _She stole my stuff! What did she do with my portrait?_ Storm was still muted so she couldn't voice her outrage.

They were lined up in front of the desk while their escorts stood at either end. Finally the female looked up and did a double take on Canyon.

"Well, I didn't know I would be having such handsome company," She purred, eyeing Canyon intimately and winked at him.

Canyon shifted uncomfortably and Lotus actually growled at the Seawing. _Lotus is really protective of Canyon._ Storm noticed, also remembering how the Mudwing had urged Storm to be nicer to Canyon when they first met.

The crowned dragon threw her head back and howled with laughter at the discomfort she had caused.

"Alright!" She suddenly barked and her laughter was instantly replaced with a hostile glare as if the previous comedic moment had never happened.

"Sponge, un-chain their mouths. But if they look like they're about to shoot some fire or ice then slit their throats," She ordered and the row of chained dragons glanced at each other with fear. Any wrong move could cost them their lives. Storm gently pulled Caracal under her wing for protection.

"So let's get to the point," The Queen directed, holding up the blue print of the light house. "I want to know everything about your plans and what you intent to do with all those animus objects you have stolen."

The chained dragons glanced at each other in confusion. The Queen tapped her claws on the desk with impatience. "Don't feint stupidity!" She snarled. "We've been watching your island for months now and we saw you two," she pointed to Canyon and Storm, "leaving yesterday. So, either you talk or I remove your toes."

Storm's pulse began to quicken and she felt Caracal tremble under her wings.

"Your majesty," Canyon bravely addressed the demented Queen. "We were _spying_ on them, not joining them. We have no idea what any of their plans are," He professed and was awarded with a knife to the throat. Its blade was serrated, the large curved teeth designed for ripping scales from flesh and then slicing said flesh.

"We want none of your lies, SkyWing," Sponge warned while Canyon stood his ground, gazing at the Queen. Storm was impressed at his bravery while she herself could feel her heart pounding in her stomach.

"Put the knife away, Sponge. He's telling the truth," The Queen ordered, but she seemed to be disappointed that she didn't have a reason to kill anyone. Sponge removed the knife and she could see the SkyWing exhale in relief.

"Wha-? But how do ya know?" Sponge balked and the Queen threw a paper weight at his face.

"I told you before! As long as I wear this medallion everyone I question must answer truthfully." Her eyes glowed as she dangled the medallion before her. _It's an animus object!_ Storm realized. _I wonder if they have any more. Are those treasure chests below full of them as well?_ Storm shuddered with dread.

"Well if you're not with the Order than who are you?" The Queen demanded. Canyon proceeded to tell her about his captured troops and his goal to get them back. Storm was also forced to describe the failed mission to the desert and why she had been on the island. The Queen listened intently, asking them to elaborate on certain details when necessary. After they completed their narrative the Queen held a troubled expression on her face and the room remained silent.

"So you know about the Order of the Black Talon?" Canyon carefully probed, breaking the silence. He had obviously noticed that the Queen had correctly referred to them as 'the Order'.

The Queen suddenly roared and slammed her fist on the desk. "Oh I know them. Those miserable, vile parasites!" The Queen kicked over a nearby shelf of scroll. This time it was the guards that glanced at each other nervously.

"They took my island, my ships, MY ANIMUS TREASURE! Those insufferable, despicable eels!" She growled. "Oh, uh, no offence, Eel," She added quickly and their third unnamed escort shrugged in indifference.

"I would give anything to tear them down," She continued in a hiss.

"As would I," Canyon agreed and all dragons in the room looked at him in surprise.

"I have been on the island; I know their resources and the layout of their camp. We could work together to bring them down from the inside, He offered. Storm gaped at him.

 _Is he this desperate that he would work with these monstrous dragons? Is this the group of dragons he imagined he would ally himself with?_

The Queen clasped her talons together and rested her chin on them. "Smart and handsome. That's a dangerous combination." She smirked and eyed him over again. This time he didn't squirm under her gaze and seemed to give no indication that he even noticed.

The female SeaWing remained silent for a few moments. "Alright," She finally consented, but there was a menacing glare in her eyes. "But my aid comes at a price." She grinned.

She picked up one of Storm's scrolls, the one that had the list of animus objects, and pointed to one of them. "I want Jerboa's map. I have been looking for it for years without any luck, but if you find it and bring it back to me then I guarantee my full support."

 _Jerboa's map?_ Storm concentrated, trying to remember her lessons on animus dragons and their creations. _Oh right! It's enchanted to tell you the location of whatever you desire. She must be after something bigger._

Canyon seemed to hesitate, but it was useless. They were cornered. If he refused then they would likely be killed or imprisoned. At the same time it was an almost impossible task. Finding ancient animus artifacts was like finding a grain-sized diamond in the ocean.

"Very well, I accept," Canyon relented and the Queen clasped her talons together with joy.

"Oh, excellent! This is wonderful…however." She eyed Storm, Lotus and Oryx as if they were bugs on her food. "What of your friends? I won't have any loose ends. Will they be a part of this agreement too?"

Lotus and Oryx quickly nodded their agreement and Storm rolled her eyes at their spinelessness.

"Well I intend to return to the Ice Kingdom!" Storm announced and gazed defiantly at the Queen. Even if the Queen hadn't been wearing her 'truth medallion' Storm would have admitted it anyway. Her tribe was still in danger, and perhaps even more so than she originally thought with this group of pirates around. The Seawing observed her for several moments before pulling out a scroll from underneath a pile. Storm recognized it as her portrait.

"That is my portrait! I demand you return it to me!" She went to grab it but found the manacles were doing a fine job in immobilizing her. Nearby Canyon was giving her a warning glance.

"Such a lovely family. You must love them very much to carry around their portrait," She teased.

"They're dead," Storm retorted.

"OH FOR MOONS' SAKE!" She growled and threw the portrait to the ground. Storm tugged against her restraints, desperately wanting to go and grab it. "Now what am I supposed to threaten you with?"

At that instant Caracal peaked past Storm's wings but quickly retreated at the sight of the Queen. Unfortunately, she had not been quick enough.

"Ooooh, what do we have here?" The Seawing matriarch cooed and signaled the guards to seize the little dragonet. Storm tried to grab onto the Sandwing as she was pulled away screaming but she was held back by Sponge.

The golden dragonet stood trembling in Ray's grasp. Ray himself looked immensely uncomfortable and gazed apologetically at the crying dragonet.

"Listen, IceWing. I can't have you alerting your Kingdom about my plans, so how about a deal? You get me that map, or I kill the dragonet."

"NO, YOU CAN'T!" Storm begged and she heard Oryx release a choked sob beside her.

"Is it a deal or not?"

"FINE, YES. Just let her go!" Storm wailed.

"Hmm, no, The Queen taunted. "She'll stay with me while you're away." She smiled maliciously. Storm growled in her throat, ignoring the warning hiss from the surrounding SeaWings.

"There is NO way I am letting you keep that dragonet." Strom shook off Sponge's grasp only to have him pull a sword to her throat. Storm sucked in sharp breath as she felt the metal teeth dig under her scales.

Queen Magpie scoffed and flicked Storm on the snout with her tail tip. "Well by the looks of it you don't have much of a choice. Now, you have one week to get me the map, otherwise both deals are off," She said to Canyon and Storm. "Now get out of my sight."

* * *

Some of their things were returned to them, mostly Lotus' herbs and medical supplies as well as their tents and water canteens. Storm got her harness back along with a slightly salty polar bear blanket.

They flew in the direction that they had been told would lead them back to the mainland. Storm was comforting a weeping Oryx while trying to hide her own despair and shame.

 _Nice going Storm, you really showed them how much of a loyal IceWing you are. Oh, except the part where you wouldn't SHUT UP and now Caracal will be killed AND my tribe will be attacked. And I am helpless to do anything._

Storm was also trying to understand how she had gotten herself into such a situation in less than two days. First it had started off with just wanted to get to the First Circle, and then it had been warning her tribe about the Order of the Black Talon. And NOW she had to get this animus map to gain the allegiance of the pirates which would help them take out the Order so that she could save her tribe. Getting into the First Circle now seemed more like an afterthought compared to this new threat. Not to mention how complicated this all was. If any part of this plan went wrong then it would all fail. Her stomach was nothing but anxious knots.

It would be simpler to just leave and go to the Ice Kingdom right now while she was free…but she wouldn't leave until she knew Caracal was safe.

Everyone was fairly quiet as they flew. Canyon seemed to be lost in thought while Lotus kept glancing at him with concern.

By the time they reached land the sun was setting. They were still in the wastelands, but closer now to the Sand Kingdom. Storm estimated they were a half a day's flight away.

They were so exhausted they didn't bother starting a fire or hunting. They all collapsed in a circle in a clearing surrounded by bushes. Oryx was asleep before his head hit the ground, completely spent from crying so much. Lotus also quickly loss consciousness, her snores filling the silence.

Storm laid on her back and watched as the stars began to emerge. She was too overwhelmed to even pretend she would get any sleep that night.

 _Now what?_

With an immense sigh she stood up, shaking the dust from her body. She walked towards the shoreline and stopped just before the soft dirt transitioned into gravely beach. She listened to the waves crash and roll away. The tide was coming in, and with every wave the water stretch itself closer to Storm's feet before it was pulled back.

"May I join you?"

She turned when she heard Canyon's voice behind her. Indeed, he had followed her here and approached to sit next to her. Despite her sorrow Storm felt happy to see him.

"We'll get the map, Storm. We'll figure this out. I'm not about to let anyone else get hurt," He promised and Storm scoffed.

"So you think it's up to you to fix this problem?" She asked.

"Not at all, if anything we will all have to work together, all four of us," He instructed and Storm gave out an exasperated sigh.

"If you came to lecture me on teamwork then just leave. I'm not in the mood," She challenged, but refused to look him in the eye.

Canyon regarded her for a moment. "It wasn't your fault," He finally said and Storm gawked at him with shock. How did he always manage to get to the root of her problems?

"Sheesh, do SkyWings have mindreading powers too?" She complained. This earned a chuckle from Canyon.

"No, you're just easy to read," He retorted and Strom scowled back at him.

"But as I was saying, she used an animus object on us; there was no hiding our plans. And honestly I am pretty sure they were going to take one of us hostage anyway," He soothed. Storm did feel a little better but it didn't change the fact that everything in her world was either dead or in great danger of being dead or attacked. And she still felt responsible for Caracal's situation.

Neither of them said anything for a few heartbeats until Canyon started again.

"I thought you were very brave today. And I admired your loyalty to your tribe…and also your dedication to protecting Caracal."

Storm turned her head away from Canyon to hide her blush.

"You were very brave as well," She commented. "And clever. I still can't believe you were able to make a deal with the Queen."

Canyon laughed lightly. "I knew it was our only hope of getting out. Unfortunately she complicated things with the map."

"Can we trust them?" Storm worried, referring to the pirates. They were hardly the honorable type.

"We don't have a choice. Not if we want to save Caracal, or our tribemates."

"Very well," Storm sighed. "So what's the plan?"

"Well, I think that the best starting point is the Kingdom of Sand. It's full of information…if you know where to look and what questions to ask. Not to mention that the map was created by a SandWing so it's location it most likely to be there."

Storm wrinkled her nose with displeasure. As a dragon of ice, she knew it would be an unpleasant experience being surrounded by heat and sand.

 _But I don't have much of a choice do I?_

She wished she had known what her sister would have done, or any member of her family besides herself.

Storm unconsciously grabbed for the pouch containing her portrait and sighed when she didn't feel it. That was another thing she would get back if they succeeded in this mission.

"Then to the Kingdom of Sand it is," She murmured under her breath.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **So APPARENTLY when I first uploaded all these chapters removed all my paragraph line-breakers, so I went back and replaced them all. I hope it didn't cause too much confusion!**


	8. The Desert

Despite her anxiety, Storm was able to get a minute amount of sleep. Unfortunately they were rising early today in order to get to the Sand Kingdom by midday. Storm groaned as she was woken by the others as they gathered their things. _These restless nights are really taking their toll on me. I've had a constant headache since that pirate bludgeoned me over the head. What I would give for a nice snow bank to lie down in!_

The sun was rising and Storm put a wing over her head to block it out. She felt Oryx nudge her with his wings. "Come on, rise and shine!" He beamed, trying to annoy her but obviously in a better mood than he had been last night. She grumbled at him and slowly got to her feet. Her scales felt filthy and she still had dried blood on her face.

Once they were all awake Canyon went over the plan once more to the group and everyone agreed. The plan, in general, was to go to the Sand Kingdom and once there they would gather information as quickly as possible. Canyon even knew of a SandWing that was involved in the illegal trading of priceless animus objects. He would find and question this SandWing while the others did their own investigations.

With a more or less solid plan, they made preparations for departure and Oryx was even incredibly optimistic.

"Don't worry, Caracal. We'll save you!" He shouted to the sky and started flying around in anticipation. _If I got half as much sleep as he did I'm sure I would feel just as energetic._ She internally groaned.

As Storm rubbed the tiredness from her eyes, flakes of dry blood and dirt flaked off. She grimaced with disgust. "I'm going to clean off my face, I'll be right back," Storm announced, heading in the direction of the ocean.

"That's actually a good idea," Lotus responded. "Canyon, you should go as well. The salt water will clean your wounds. Oryx and I can finish the packing while you two go clean up."

Indeed the SkyWing's wounds from the previous night looked red and irritated under their coating of dried blood.

"Yes…it's probably not a good idea arriving in a new Kingdom looking like we've just been in a fight," He agreed.

The SkyWing and IceWing walked in silence towards beach. Storm waded into the water until it reached halfway up her legs and then ducked completely under.

She emerged from the water a second later; her head wound had begun to burn from the salt water to the point where it was unbearable. She sat in the water grasping the side of her head with the abrasion.

Storm lowered her talon and heard Canyon wince as her wound was revealed. "What did they hit you with, a hammer covered in teeth? We probably should have treated this last night."

Storm sat rigid as he approached her and began to wrap a bandage around her head. After he was finished her head felt substantially better, although her wound was still stinging. They continued to clean the dirt off their scales in silence.

"You know, you don't talk very much. I always feel like I'm the one conversing," He suddenly pointed out and Storm huffed in annoyance.

"That's ridiculous. When we were returning from the island I told you _plenty_ of things about me!" She countered. _Probably way more than I should have._ "If anything _you're_ the one that is secretive," She accused while trying to wash the sand from between her toes.

"I'm not secretive…I'm just cautious," Canyon defended. "Besides, if we're going to be allies in this adventure then don't you think we should know more about each other?"

Storm liked the idea of finding out more about this SkyWing, but she would have to be more careful about what information she let out. She still felt foolish for being so open with this random dragon she barely knew. Then again, she had never really learned how to 'talk' to anyone so to speak. In the Ice Kingdom dragons didn't talk to each other for the sake of a friendly conversation. Every meeting had a purpose and no one asked how you were doing or what was wrong. _It's probably best if I keep quiet since every time I open my mouth I can't seem to shut up. How embarrassing._ Still, the allure of finding out more about Canyon was too strong.

"Alright, what do you want to know?" Strom asked cautiously.

"We'll start with something easy. Like…what's your favourite prey to eat?"

Storm blinked in confusion. _What kind of question is that? As if telling him my favourite prey will reveal the mysteries of my soul._

"Can't you just read my mind and figure it out for yourself?" Storm quipped while scrubbing off some mud on her tail.

The SkyWing smiled in amusement. "Well I thought it would be more polite to ask you directly," He joked.

"Seal," She replied curtly.

Canyon sighed in frustration. "See, there you go doing it again! So vague. _Why_ do you like seal?" He probed.

"I…suppose it reminds me of when my father was alive. _He_ liked the taste of seal, so he would always catch them for my sister and me," She admitted, and immediately reprimanded herself. _So much for keeping quiet._

When she looked at Canyon's face, his eyes were warm with understanding.

"That's the same reason I like moose so much. They remind me of my little sister. She loved the taste, so I would always hunt them when I could."

This sparked Storm's interest. "You have a sister?" She inquired.

Canyon's warm eyes quickly turned cold and he began to hastily clean the dried blood from his chest. "I did," Was all he said.

Storm felt his sorrow sit in her heart like an iceberg. _So he has lost family members as well._ Without thinking she closed the distance between them so that her wings brushed against his in a comforting gesture. Canyon jolted at the touch and Storm realized what she had done. She had just done it instinctively for some reason. Quickly she pulled away and mumbled an apology. Both dragons were gently blushing.

"What happened to her?" Storm asked quietly, trying to get back to the subject.

Canyon busied himself by cleaning the dirt from his feet, avoiding her gaze. "It's complicated," He replied. Storm held back a disappointed sigh. _Perhaps he's bad at talking about his feelings too._

"OY! YOU TWO!" A yell emanating from high on the beach jolted Storm and Canyon apart. Storm didn't need to look to know it was Oryx.

"Are you two pretty yet? We're done with the packing!" He hollered at them.

"Yes, we're ready to leave!" Canyon yelled back. His usual confident and determined look had returned to replace the sorrowful and guilty one he had been wearing only moments ago.

He turned to Storm and gave her a friendly smile which filled her with light. "Let's go back," He suggested and Storm couldn't help but smiled back before nodding in agreement.

* * *

After Lotus checked Storm's bandaged head they departed for the Kingdom of Sand.

With every mile they covered Storm felt the heat climb. The rocky soil beneath them turned into soft sand and the sparse trees that dappled the wastelands became cacti.

They reached their destination right on time, the midday sun reflected off the sand with constant intensity. She could tell that Canyon and Lotus were having a difficult time with the excess light, but as an IceWing Storm was adapted to this as the same effect occurred with snow. Oryx also seemed comfortable and Storm hoped that being in the desert for the first time would make him feel at home.

As for Storm, the desert was worse than she expected. The sand was hot, extremely hot. It got under her scales, in her nose, her mouth, her eyes. It itched and irritated her and she hadn't even touched it yet!

The heat was also inescapable. It attacked from both above and below, the sun's harsh light reflecting off the sand in heavy waves. She was beginning to feel dizzy.

They flew further into the Kingdom to the town that surrounded Queen Thorn's palace. _I still can't believe someone else became Queen of the SandWings. And I STILL don't understand how it happened!_

The town was a blooming cosmopolitan. Storm saw mostly SandWings, but there were also a large community of MudWings and SkyWings.

As Canyon had described there was a large market just on the other side of the town and its scent hit Storm like a snowball to the face. It was a mixture of meat that had left out too long with a spicy, burning odour that irritated Storm's nose and eyes. _That must be those 'spices' that the SandWings would always talk about longingly when we would bring them their prey._

Soon the market became visible as they flew over a large sand dune. Booths and tents were set up along crowded roads, their vibrant colours and flags a nice break from the eternity of gold sand that stretched out behind them. Shouting could be heard below as dragons haggled over price and quality. Storm could see almost every kind of dragon present. _Except for and SeaWings or IceWings._ She noted, unsurprised.

"Alright, let's land!" Canyon called out to the others.

"WHAT?" Storm argued. "It's chaos down there, can't we go somewhere else?"

"We need money," Canyon explained in exasperation. "We're in a city now, we'll need currency if we want to get anywhere and buy supplies. We'll sell one of our tents and maybe some other things as well if we need to."

 _This is a waste of time! We need to find that map, not start a business!_ She thought consciously, but deep down she knew he was right.

They alighted on the outskirts of the market next to a single palm tree. As soon as Storm touched the sand she began to hop from foot to foot as the scorching ground burned her feet. She took shelter in the small shadow of the nearby palm tree and was stunned when someone squished up beside her, sitting on her tail. It turned out to be Canyon who was holding up his forefeet before him and blowing on them to cool them off.

Storm noticed the bottom of his feet were not as padded as Oryx's or Lotus'. Perhaps that was a common characteristic for SkyWings. As for Storm, she did have a thin layer of padding that helped her to walk on ice, but it didn't protect her feet from the scorching sands.

"Ow, get off my tail!" Storm hissed at him.

"Well maybe if it wasn't so big…"

"HOW DARE YOU! AT LEAST MY TAIL IS-"

"If you two want to just say here…" Lotus began, sitting comfortably beside Oryx who was snickering at them. "…then Oryx and I will go into the market and see if we can get you some gloves or foot coverings. I think I saw the other SkyWings wearing them, so I'll just ask where they got them. We should be back shortly."

"Wait!" Storm hollered and she unhooked the polar bear blanked from her harness and threw it at Lotus who caught it.

"Sell that if you can too!" She requested and Lotus nodded. _It will hopefully get us a little more money. Anything to hurry this process up._

Lotus and Oryx disappeared behind a booth and left the two dragons alone.

"Well, this is a minor setback," Canyon mumbled. "Maybe I just need to get used to it."

He placed a forefoot out of the shadow and rested it on the sand. Three seconds later he quickly withdrew it with a yelp, the skin of his foot looking irritated and red.

"What do you think you're doing, you puffin brain! You'll get blisters!" Storm scolded him, gently taking his talon in hers and blowing cool air over it. The heat was weakening her ice breath but she could still make her breath a bit colder.

"Uh, thanks," Canyon said, averting his gaze and taking his talons back.

Storm realized what she was doing and stammered out an apology. _What is wrong with me? A few days ago I wouldn't have even sat this close to him let along grab his talons._

They sat in silence for a while, and Storm began to think of their interaction this morning. _So what if I am vague and dislike conversation? In the Ice Kingdom we wouldn't be expected to talk about such pointless things. Although…it was nice to have someone take an interest in me. To see me as more than just a Fourth Circle nobody._ She sighed and also remembered how Oryx had treated her with kindness when they had first met, taking interest in her life and problems. That was more than any IceWing outside of her family had done.

 _Perhaps I should start acting like more of a friend. I will be with these dragons for a while longer, I should start returning their kindness._

"So…tell me about your family," Storm asked Canyon, not really sure if it was too bold of a question or not.

Canyon gave her a confused look and Storm was worried for a moment that he wouldn't answer. However, his shoulders then sagged and he let out a sight. "Well, there is my mother, step-father and my clutch mate brother." He said without any elaboration and Storm was almost tempted to leave it at that, but there was a detail he was leaving out.

"But, earlier today you said you had a sister…" Storm continued. "But I would understand if you didn't want to talk about it with me." She added hastily. _Am I being too pushy? Have I made him uncomfortable? I probably sound like I'm just being nosy._ She fretted. Meanwhile Canyon was giving her that same annoying look he had when they were flying back from their reconnaissance mission. Like he was trying to figure her out.

Storm threw him a sharp look and then turned away and pretended to be interested in the far off sand dunes to hide her disappointment. _So much for my conversational skills._

"Actually I don't mind talking to you," The SkyWing finally answered. "It's just…difficult."

"I know," Strom replied sincerely. _I know all too well._

"You see, her death is the reason my family doesn't want to see me," He admitted with his head hung in guilt.

It was at that point that Lotus and Oryx returned.

"Heeey! We found you some foot things!" Oryx hooted as the rushed towards them, pushing them in their talons. They were stretchy and a simple brown colour with holes for their claws to poke through and they were padded on the bottom.

Storm and Canyon put them on quickly and tested them out. They worked like a charm.

"Now we can finally show you the market place it's so amazing there is so much crazy food and THEY HAVE THE COOLEST THINGS!" Oryx rushed out not pausing for breath. Storm nodded with interest, humouring Oryx, but her mind was still on Canyon.

 _What could've happened to make him feel like it was his fault?_ She wondered. Trailing behind her Lotus and Canyon were conversing as usual while Oryx continued to talk beside her.

They entered the bustling streets and Storm was jolted in every direction as dragons ran by, nudged her or stepped on her feet without so much as a glance. The excess physical contact made Storm's scales twitch in agitation.

"This is _so_ different from the Ice Kingdom!" Oryx exclaimed. _You have no idea._ Storm thought.

"Listen up!" Canyon shouted over the throng of dragons. "I am going to go and find that dragon I mentioned earlier. I am going to ask around to his where-a-bouts. We'll meet back at the palm tree at sunset."

"Do you need backup, Commander?" Lotus asked him. Storm expected Canyon to agree to the offer. It would seem smart to take someone along. However, he refused. "No, I will be fine on my own. He's not the aggressive sort," The SkyWing explained. He smiled reassuringly and with that he was gone, melting into the crowd.

As soon as he was out of sight the MudWing hissed and kicked a nearby shrub in frustration.

Storm and Oryx exchanged an apprehensive glance.

"Are you alright there, Lotus?" Oryx inquired.

Lotus sighed and turned her light pink eyes on them. "He always thinks he needs to do everything on his own. Even when it's obviously logical to take someone else along but NOOOOO he has to be an idiot and do everything himself!" She complained with a grimace.

"I know!" Storm automatically chimed in. "I thought he was just doing that to annoy me. So he does it to you as well?"

Lotus rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he does that to EVERYONE. He's such a control freak."

Storm held in a snort of laughter. Meanwhile Oryx was looking back and forth between the two females in confusion.

"SO ANYWAY" He blurted out. "Can we start looking around now? Let's go check out that thing!" Oryx yelled and pulled on Storm's wing to follow and Lotus was not far behind.

He pulled her past a booth selling vibrant tapestries and another with jars full of spices that burned the inside of Storm's nose. Eventually they approached a booth that was selling jewelry that had been arranged into complicated designs to look like beetles, dragonflies and other insects. Storm had to admit it was quite beautiful…until she checked the price on a small ring and found it to be more than money than she had every possessed in her whole life.

Oryx was gawking at a large, and no doubt expensive, butterfly pendant made of black opal and fire opal. He seemed to be having fun, there was a vibrant smile on his face that made Storm happy to see. Storm decided now was a good time to implement her new friendship building attitude.

"So Oryx, you must enjoy the desert a lot more than the arctic," Storm commented, trying to make friendly conversation.

Oryx continued to look at the pendent and shrugged. "It's fine. Honestly I didn't find the arctic all that bad. Everyone else was always complaining but I found it comfortable."

Now it was time for Storm and Lotus to look at Oryx with confusion.

"But, you're a SandWing. You mean to tell me the freezing temperatures didn't bother you _at all_?" Lotus inquired.

"Meh," He responded, teetering his talon back and forth.

 _What a strange dragon._ Storm thought but was slightly bemused at the same time.

"Are you going to buy or look?" The rough SandWing at the booth asked, giving them an impatient look.

"Uh, sorry," Oryx apologized and gently placed the pendant back. "Let's go look at something else," He suggested.

"We're supposed to be getting information, not browsing the shops," Storm reminded.

Oryx rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. I knooooow. But…HEY WHAT'S THAT THING?" In an instant Oryx had run off in some other direction. Storm rubbed her temples and approached the pale scaled dragon as he excitedly stood before a booth selling roasted tarantulas on a stick.

"Fine. How about you stay here and browse the booths while Lotus and I go ask around,  
Storm offered.

Oryx turned to her with a hurt expression. "What! No, I want to help investigate too! Ok, I'll be serious from now on. One hundred percent FOCUSED." He clenched his talons in concentration and furrowed his brow in a stern expression. Yet despite his effort Storm could see his eyes flickering about as random things caught his attention. His jaw shifted in discomfort and Storm knew he was struggling to not run of and explore.

Storm heard Lotus shuffle up behind her. She had been listening silently to their exchange and now contributed her own advice. "But you _would_ be helping by browsing the shops," She said.

Storm and Oryx turned to her in confusion. "Really?" They both asked at the same time, although Oryx had spoken more with excitement whereas Storm's was more skeptical.

The MudWing nodded. "Of course! You could check to see if there are any booths selling animus objects or perhaps maps on where to find them." She approached the SandWing and leaned her head towards him and lowered her voice. "And while you're at it, ask around. See if any of the booth owners know anything about what we're looking for."

Oryx stared up at Lotus with wide-eyes. "Yeah! I can do that," He said with the conviction of someone given the most important task in the history of task-giving.

Storm watched the scene with a frown. _I guess she does have a point, although I am having second thoughts on leaving Oryx alone in this market place. Don't they kidnap dragonets here and sell them or something? Or maybe those were just rumours._

While Storm was lost in thought about the potential risks that might befall Oryx, Lotus was fishing through her small bag and pulled out a silver coin and passed it to SandWing.

"Take this. Encase you see something you like." She winked and Oryx grasped the coin jubilantly and then gave her a salute, indicating he had accepted his mission.

Lotus nodded. "Alright, we'll see you at sunset," she confirmed and with that Oryx bolted off.

"DON'T GO TOO FAR! STAY WITHIN VIEW OF THE PALM TREE!" Storm shouted after him, unsure if he heard or not.

"Is it a good idea to send him away? He could get into all kinds of trouble!" She fretted.

"He'll be fine." Lotus assured with a wave of her talon. "Besides, dragging him around would have gotten us nowhere. Now we can focus on getting information and he can have fun. It's a win-win."

Storm could see the logic of it, but it didn't take away her worry.

"Wait, where did you get that money?" Storm questioned as they began to walk through the crowd.

"I sold some of our stuff, remember? I got two silvers from your blanket and three for the tent. But before we start searching for information I was hoping to stock up on some more herbs and medicine if that's alright with you," Lotus answered and asked. Storm agreed and the two dragonesses set out to find a booth that sold what they were after.

* * *

They walked through the market for up to half an hour in silence, and Storm was feeling awkward.

She had never spent that much time with Lotus. She knew she was sweet but had a limit to her kindness. She also cared deeply for Canyon. How she always looked after him, making sure he was alright, always the first to offer her support. This created a bothersome idea in Storm's mind. And the fact that it was bothersome was also bothersome.

"Hey Lotus," Storm began and the Mudwing, who was walking slightly in front of Storm, turned her head go listen.

"Are you…in love with Canyon?"

Lotus stopped walking and turned back to look at Storm with gaping eyes. After a pause the MudWing began to roar with laughter. She was laughing so hard that she had to gasp for air every few second before being thrown back into a fit of giggles. Storm sat awkwardly next to her as dragons looked in their direction. _Well I thought it was a valid question!_

She finally caught her breath, wiping a tear from her eye. "No no, it's nothing like that. Canyon and I are perhaps closer than just a commander and a medical officer, but we are certainly not in love. Besides...I'm already married," She said vaguely and the two dragons continued their walk.

 _Wait, what? She's married? But that only raises further questions!_ Storm was intrigued but decided to push that information off to the side for now. Her main mission was to learn more about Canyon. With this in mind she continued her investigation.

"So you and Canyon have known each other for a while then? You must have in order to be so close," Storm suggested and waited for the response, narrowly dodging a young dragon rushing by.

Lotus seemed to hesitate as if not knowing how much to share. "I suppose Canyon and I are somewhat alike. We are both loners of sorts. When I joined his unit as the chief medical officer he was only a few month into the position. He was young and eager to prove himself but I sensed he needed someone to lean on, if only to talk to."

Storm listened intently as Lotus revealed this unknown side of Canyon.

"He never really corresponded with his parents or anyone. Like all SkyWings he was drafted into the army when he was three years old," Lotus continued and Storm inhaled with disgust.

"When they're _three_!" She repeated in disbelief. _That's horrible, they're so young! IceWings are at least four before they are allowed to see any real action._

"Yes, I know. Very sad. But Queen Scarlet is not the merciful type," Lotus said dryly, squeezing through a group of dragons chatting in the middle of the road. "Anyway, he climbed the ranks and was given title of commander when he was eight. It was that same year that his sister died."

"Yes, he told me a little bit about it," Storm commented and Lotus looked surprised.

"He's never spoken about to anyone, not even me. I only know because I was there when it happened," Lotus eyed Storm carefully, considering her.

"He trusts you," Lotus observed. "But I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not," She finished and Storm looked at her with confusion and hurt.

"What do you mean by that?"

Lotus stopped walking at sat down, motioning for Storm to join her. They sat under the shade of a nearby booth where she looked Storm in the eyes. "Storm, it's not that you cannot be trusted but…" She paused then let out a tight laugh. "You've caught his eyes, to say the least but you're still devoted to your life in the Ice Kingdom. I just don't want to see him get attached just to have you run off."

Storm opened her mouth to speak but couldn't think of a single thing to say so she just snapped it shut. _Surely she can't think there is anything between Canyon and myself. We've only just met! And who cares if he's handsome, smart, courageous, kind…_ Storm slammed her mental voice off before it could finish that string of thoughts.

Perhaps Lotus took Storm's silence as offended anger since put her talons up defensively. "Listen, I'm not trying to upset you…I just want you two to be careful. Canyon's like a little brother. I just want him to be happy." She rested a friendly wingtip on Storm's shoulder. "Come on, let's find that herbal shop, I think I heard some dragons saying there was one just around the corner."

They began to walk through the crowd once again and Storm tried to think of ANYTHING besides Canyon. Her thoughts soon turned to Lotus and who the MudWing could be married to. Did she have a family and dragonets of her own?

"Erm…I didn't know you were married. I thought MudWings stayed with their siblings for their lives," Storm stoked the conversation, hoping she wasn't overstraining this brief friendship she had formed with Lotus.

Lotus, however, seemed more willing to share information about herself than she had about Canyon.

"Usually that is true, but, well, love makes dragons to crazy things, eh?" Lotus winked at her and Storm nodded in agreement. She thought of her own mother who had left her position in the First Circle to marry and live with her father. Indeed, love makes dragons to crazy and dangerous things.

"Do you have any dragonets?" Storm continued to ask. She was beginning to feel guilty about how little she knew of this dragon.

Lotus shrugged and seemed to become a bit more timid. "Well, no. You see, my mate and I are both female so if we want dragonets we'll have to adopt and MudWings don't usually do that either. MudWings have a very minimal parenting style. When a female has a clutch of eggs, her and her sibs will protect the clutch until they hatch and then raise them for a year. But after that they are left to fend for themselves," She explained. "That way they learn to depend on each other."

Storm had never learned this part of MudWing culture. Really they had just trained her to fight against MudWing strategies. She had also been told that MudWings were weak for relying on their sibs.

They walked in silence for a bit but Lotus kept glancing at her anxiously. Finally the MudWing spoke up. "I, um, I hope you're not bothered that I am married to another female. I know some dragons are sort of…against it and well I guess everyone's entitled to their opinion butitstillcanhurt…"

"Lotus, relax! I not upset by it," Storm interrupted her nervous rambling and raised her talons to calm the older dragoness. "Honestly it's not all that uncommon in the Ice Kingdom. Ever since Queen Snowfox took another female named Snowflake as her mate there have been laws put in place to prevent discrimination. Although it still happens anyway. The nobility are always looking for ways to keep themselves on top and will use whatever leverage they can," Storm explained scornfully. The fact that she was poor and that her father was of Seventh Circle stock were a few such leverages they used against her.

Lotus seemed to relax and her friendly demeanor returned. "Well that's a relief. That you're not bothered by it, that is. And even if it's not perfect, the Ice Kingdom is at least a little more progressive than other Kingdoms. Anyway, thanks for being understanding." Lotus smiled at the IceWing and Storm returned her own awkward smile.

They finally approached a large tent that had bundles of rosemary and mint hanging on the outside beams, and the odour from within smelled fresh and fragrant. The sent made Storm sneeze several times in rapid succession and only ceased when she stepped back from the tent.

"Perhaps you should stay outside. You've never really been exposed to pollens and flowers all that much, you're probably very sensitive to them," Lotus recommended. "I'll be out in two shakes of my tail!" And with that the Mudwing abandoned the ice dragon.

Storm grimaced. She had actually been excited to investigate all the herbs and plants at the shop, but robbed of this opportunity she instead made a sour face and sat beside the entrance. To pass the time she idly dragon-watched and looked around at the surrounding booths; taking in all the strange new things that would have never even found in an IceWing market.

Across from the herbal tent was another booth selling jewelry, yet this one had a refreshing style. Most was made of silver that had been shaped to look like the rolling waves of the ocean and were embedded with blue gems and even pearls. Storm wondered if they were imported from the Kingdom of the Sea or something. The booth owner was speaking jubilantly to a young SandWing that was Storm's age. The young male was a pale yellow with a vivid diamondback that went all down his back and connected to a single, large diamond on his chest. He was also bedazzled in jewelry. He had several gold hoop earrings on his right ear that were embedded with precious stones of various colours. They matched the gold bands around his horns. Storm also noticed the arm band he wore, it had the same lovely opal stones as Storm had seen in the jewelry booth she had visited with Oryx.

Nothing was evidently wrong with the conversation, but Storm couldn't help but have a strange feeling about the young SandWing. Her suspicions proved to be correct when she witnessed the young male snatch a ring off the table when the booth owner's back was turned. The diamond chested male then politely excused himself from the conversation and put the object in a bag strapped across his back.

Storm gawked at him, mouth agape. _Thief! I can't be the only one that noticed!_

But sure enough Storm seemed to be the only one to have noticed as no other dragons were looking mortified or even remotely shocked.

When she looked back towards the scene of the crime she found that the young Sandwing was looking at her. He placed a talon over his mouth signaling for her to keep hush about it, and disappeared into the crowd with a smirk.

 _Well I never! Does he expect me to just let him get away with this! I am going to find the nearest guard and report him._

Storm was about to leap into action when she heard a voice that froze her to the spot.

"I swear we're lost. We'll never find the meeting place now. We'll be on boat duty for another month for this!" A nervous and small female NightWing complained

"Stop crying. According to that SandWing I asked the tavern should be just around the corner," A burly male MudWing responded.

Storm hugged the side wall of the tent as they passed, hiding herself from their view. Their voices were so familiar and Storm concentrated hard on where she had heard them.

Finally it came to her. _They're the dragons from the ship! The ones that almost caught Canyon and I in the storage room!_

"Why are you hiding?"

Lotus' sudden question made Storm jump a foot in the air. The Mudwing eyed her warily, but she had obviously been fruitful as her bag was now full.

Storm didn't have time to explain. She pushed Lotus out of the way and just managed to see the tails of the two dragons disappear in the crowd.

"Storm, what's going on?" Lotus demanded more loudly.

"I have a lead!" She declared with vigor and ran to follow, forcing her way against the current of the crowd.


	9. Undercover

"Storm, slow down!" Lotus called after her. Storm continued to follow the ever disappearing tails of the two dragons. She turned the corner just in time to see her targets enter a large tent that had a flag hanging on the outside that read 'The Desert Flower Tavern'.

Storm hid behind the neighbouring booth and waited for the dragons to enter.

"Storm! What's going on here?" Lotus finally caught up and sat beside her.

"I recognized their voices," Storm explained and described how they had been onboard the ship used to carry the IceWing and SandWing prisoners to the Island. "They also mentioned they were going to a meeting," Storm added. "We need to figure out a way to get close enough so we can hear what they're discussing."

To her surprise, Lotus smiled confidently at the information. "Well there's no point standing out here. We need to follow them in."

"Into the tavern?" Storm asked nervously

"Well yeah. Don't tell me they don't have taverns in the Ice Kingdom!"

"Of course they do! It's just…I've never been old enough to enter one," Storm admitted meekly.

Lotus put a reassuring wing over Storm. "Don't worry, they won't care how old you are," She informed her while removing the bandage that Strom was still wearing from this morning. Honestly, Storm's had almost forgotten about it. Lotus winced once the wrappings were removed. "Yowch! That wound still looks pretty bad."

Self-consciously Storm reached up to touch it but Lotus swatted her talons away.

"I'll put something less conspicuous on it for now," The MudWing decided and reached into her bag. She pulled out some bright white bandages and some goopy looking stuff in a little glass bottle.

"As I was saying, money is money for them, not matter what your age," Lotus reassured while cutting out a piece of bandage large enough to cover the wound and used the sticky stuff in the bottle as an adhesive to keep it in place. However, she had misunderstood the source of Storm's anxiety. She knew next to nothing about taverns and bars, let alone the social etiquettes. _Don't criminals go into taverns? Is it safe? How am I supposed to act in a tavern?_

All these questions ran through Storm's head as she was pushed through the tent entrance and into a completely different world.

The dragons there looked rough to say the least. It was overcrowded and everyone spoke too loudly, trying to shout over the yelling of everyone else. There were tables to the left and a bar to the right with little stools to sit at.

"It smells like a burning whale in here," Storm commented and wrinkled her nose.

"That would be the pub food. We should get some, I'm starving!" Lotus suggested and led Storm towards the bar where there were two empty stools. While Lotus ordered some food Storm scanned the area, looking for her targets.

She thought it would be easy to find a Nightwing and Mudwing in a Sandwing tavern, but as it turned out there were actually a lot of different dragons present. Another annoying factor was that no one had any sense of personal space and on more than one occasion her tail was stepped on without so much as an apology.

After a few minutes of searching she finally found them. They were sitting several seats down at the bar as well. Their heads were close together as they conversed about something.

"I'm going to get closer to them. Wait here!" Storm instructed Lotus who had a mouth full of something that could maybe be called food. Before Lotus could do anything Storm jumped over the bar and crawled low until she was right in front of the Initiates. Storm struggled to hear their conversation over the din of the tavern. There words kept fading in and out.

"They should be here—the map needs—pirates."

 _Wait…map…pirates. Do they know about the map that we are after? Do they know the pirates want it too?_

"Well I could—maybe try the fish?" The other said and Storm rolled her eyes. Were they just talking about food now?

"Uh, excuse me?" Someone whispered next to Storm's ear and the IceWing jumped only to have her head hit a shelf.

"Sorry to bother you…" A young Sandwing crouched beside Storm and gave her a wary look. "…but are you going to buy anything?"

"No. I'm spying!" She hissed back.

"Oh. Right. Sorry then," He fumbled back and left with a confused expression.

Storm returned to the conversation of the dragons above her, straining her ears to get most of the words.

"Yes but we need to get the candle—in a few days we attack—someone took the blue prints—should still be finished soon—"

 _They must be talking about the light house! But what do they mean by attack? Is it some sort of weapon? Do they need a specific kind of candle to make it work?_ Storm remembered how the plans indicated that a small candle was to be used in the light house. Maybe they had one specially designed? It seemed rather odd…

"So, uh…" Storm jolted as the young SandWing from before returned with a sheepish look. "…my mom said you have to buy something or leave. And that you have to sit at the bar like a normal dragon."

Stormed turned her head around to see a large and annoyed female SandWing glaring at her. Storm grumbled, slightly embarrassed and slunk back to her bar seat next to Lotus who had now ordered a mug of mead.

"So what can I get ya?" The young males asked enthusiastically, placing both talons on the bar.

"What's the cheapest thing you have?" Storm asked while still trying to focus on the two dragons.

"Well…that would be one shot of tequila…"

"Yeah that's fine." Storm shooed him away and Lotus looked shocked.

"Storm, that's some heavy drinking for our…situation."

"It's fine Lotus. IceWings can't get drunk," She responded and was rewarded with a skeptical glance from Lotus.

"I'm being serious! IceWing's have been putting ethanol in their drinks since before the Scorching. How else would be keep the water from freezing? Because of this we've evolved to metabolize ethanol almost instantaneously. Even hatchlings drink it," Storm finally explained.

"That's fascinating!" Lotus breathed, intrigued by this biological fact. _I guess as a doctor she would find this interesting._

"Wow, that _is_ neat!" The SandWing had returned with her small beverage and had overheard her. Storm took her drink and simply held it while she still tried watch the Initiates. Unfortunately she couldn't hear anything now and she was beginning to become anxious.

"We're not going to learn anything at this rate!" She complained to Lotus.

"Don't get discouraged now. Look, it seems our 'friends' have company."

Storm looked up in time to see that another dragon had joined the two she was following. It was a SkyWing, and the three dragons made their way to a door flap that was at the back of the tavern. It was probably a side room or something but Storm didn't hesitate to get closer and beckoned Lotus to follow. They ducked behind a broken table that had been laid on its side and pushed to the back of the tent. It allowed a perfect view of the dragons as they stopped just before the entrance. The flap was pulled aside from within and SeaWing peeked out.

"I am Sacred, a second level initiate of the 3rd order," The Skywing said.

"I'm Discovery, a first level initiate of the 2nd order." The Nightwing added

"The name's Wisdom, I'm the same level as her," The Mudwing finished, pointing to the Nightwing.

They were permitted entrance and the flap was closed. Storm and Lotus looked at each other in confusion. _Their rankings are even more complicated than in the Ice Kingdom. And what's with those weird names?_

"Now what?" Storm whispered. They had hardly learning anything. They needed to know what was going on in that meeting.

Lotus thought for a moment, and a devious smile spread on her face. "Follow my lead," She whispered and left her position from behind the table and stood right before the flap.

Storm watched the MudWing's actions with mouth agape but quickly scrambled after. She stood next to her, stiff with tension. "I hope you know what you're doing!" She hissed just as the curtain was tugged aside and the same SeaWing that greeted the previous dragons emerged.

"I am Knowledge, a second level initiate of the 1st order," Lotus bluffed with confidence and nudged Storm.

"I, uh, I'm Enlightenment. First level initiate of the 1st order."

The SeaWing eyed Storm curiously. "Since when do we have IceWings?" Her voice wasn't necessarily suspicious, but genuinely interested.

"I was with the group of IceWings and SandWings that were captured several days ago," Storm said. It wasn't a complete lie so it wasn't as hard to say.

"But I didn't think any of them joined us?"

"Well I did!" Storm insisted and tried to remember the stuff that Priestess had said. "I believe that we need to…uh…revive the lost wisdom of our ancestors and...um… usher in a new era of knowledge and…power?" She fumbled. The SeaWing gave her a suspicious glare and Storm held her breath as she waited for a reaction.

"Well you're no poet but your hearts in the right place," She finally said and permitted Storm and Lotus to enter. Storm restrained a massive breath of relief as they ducked into the small, quiet room. It had a simple carpet as a floor and could perhaps fit ten dragons. There was no furniture, only a window that faced the West and allowed the light from the now setting sun to filter in. Storm and Lotus glanced at each other. Canyon and Oryx would be waiting for them. However, Storm was determined to not leave empty taloned. The males would just have to suck it up and wait for them if need be.

"Hello fellow initiates!" Lotus greeted jubilantly, trying too hard to fit in. So far the only dragons present was the door guard and the three dragons that had just entered. Sacred and Wisdom glanced at them with uninterested expressions but Discovery seemed to be happy to talk.

"I don't think I ever met you guys before!" She conversed cheerfully. "You know, I was one of the dragons on the ship that you were prisoner on," She said to Storm, not seeming to realize that it wasn't the best thing to say.

"Yes. I know," She responded curtly and the NightWing wilted. It wasn't just the fact that this dragon was partly responsible for her situation right now, but also that she was a Nightwing. Their tribes have hated each other for thousands of years, how could she even pretend to trust them?

Two more dragons approached the curtain and were quickly let in. Storm stifled a yelp and ducked behind Lotus as Gnosis and another Mudwing entered. _Whale dung! I had no idea that HE would be here! What if he recognizes me? We were fighting talon to talon; he definitely got a look at my face. Then again, I was wearing my helmet…_

"Greetings, Intitiates," His phlegmy voice murmured half heartily. He glanced around the room but stopped at Storm. "Who the blazes are you?"

Storm awkwardly revealed herself from her hiding spot behind Lotus. Squaring her shoulders she repeated her lie with all the confidence she could muster. While they stared at each other Storm noticed with horror that he carried the same wand that Priestess had used on Prince Frazil. After several moments of silence Gnosis still looked unconvinced. "I think I would have remembered a face like yours," He said, but it wasn't a flirtatious compliment. He eyed the violet scales that dappled her face as if trying to place her somewhere.

"Well whether you remember me or not is your problem. I was there that night on the ship and I was on the island as well," Storm challenged, once again bending the truth.

Gnosis still looked at her skeptically but backed off. Storm exhaled in relief and she could hear Lotus doing so as well. _Why didn't he bother her? I guess she is just another MudWing._ _She doesn't stick out like a NightWing in a snowbank._

"Alright, let's get to business," Gnosis commanded and everyone stood in attention. "I have gathered you here today for a special mission to obtain Jerboa's map."

 _Whale dung!_ Storm silently swore while she and Lotus locked eyes anxiously. Their search for the map had just gotten significantly more difficult.

"Local sources tell us that the most likely place to find such a thing will be in the hoodoos to the South. Now, I will divide you into pairs so that…"

"Excuse me, sir, but I thought we were still searching for that candle to use in the lighthouse." Discovery broke in. Storm ears piqued with interest. _This must be the same candle that I overheard them talking about. So it_ is _and animus touched object. But what horrible thing does it do?_

Storm expected Gnosis to snap at her for interrupting, but instead he smiled triumphantly. "Do not worry my young Initiate, for the candle has already been found. Behold!" He proceeded to pull out a completely ordinary white candle from a nap sac and hold it up above his head like it had been sent by the Moon Spirits themselves.

The other Initiates oohed and awed at the less than impressive object.

"Can I touch it?" Discovery asked quietly.

"No!" Gnosis snapped and put the candle back in his bag. "So now that the candle has been obtained we can now move on to the second stage of our plan. And so, as I was saying before I will put you in pairs…"

"Um, excuse me again, sir." This time it was Storm that butted in. She knew she was putting herself at risk by being in the center of attention, but she wasn't going to squander this opportunity to learn more.

"But could you explain what those two stages are again…well, I mean, for those of us who _don't_ know what they are because I certainly do," Storm tried, and failed, to sound like she knew what she was talking about. Lotus nudged her wing in warning but it was too late now.

Suddenly everyone except Gnosis seemed to become quiet and looked at each other awkwardly. Meanwhile, Gnosis was inspecting Storm with narrowed eyes.

"Well, for those who _don't_ know," Gnosis spoke slowly, his gaze never leaving Storm's face. "This candle is essential for invading the Ice Kingdom."

Storm inhaled sharply. She already knew about the plan, but here she was discussing it with the very dragons who would be invading. She was beginning to lose her composure and Lotus was giving her a sharp look.

"As a loyal Initiate this shouldn't be a problem. Right, _IceWing_?" Gnosis sneered which jolted Storm out of her thoughts.

"Yes, of course I knew that! And I am completely fine with it, obviously. I just don't understand how that flimsy candle will bring down the Ice Kingdom. We…they have an impenetrable animus wall and strong, excellently trained warriors that will fight to the death to protect the tribe. Not to mention you'll freeze to death if you even manage to get in," Storm boasted but shut her mouth when she heard the confused murmurs among the group. To her right, Storm could hear Lotus taking in several deep breaths. Whether it was to calm her nerves or her temper Storm would never know. _Now I've done it._

Storm gulped as she waited for Gnosis to call her bluff and attack. However, he simply smiled knowingly as he sauntered over to sit in front of her. He was already taller than Storm but this was even more dramatic when she was sitting and he was standing. His crimson eyes burned into hers but she refused to advert her gaze.

"My dear youngling," He crooned and Storm shuddered. "There is no need to be worried. We already know about the secret entrance through the Great Ice Cliff."

Storm winced. She had been right to suspect that they would learn of the entrance from their many IceWing hostages.

"Also," He continued. "The enchantment placed upon this candle is very special indeed. Anyone caught in its glow will be immediately hypnotized and put under the control of the dragon that lit it. They will agree to whatever demands and orders they are given."

For a moment Storm was confused but then her eyes widened as the pieces started to fall together. _Whale dung._ She silently cursed. _NOW I know what that contraption is for. It's not just a light house; it was made to amplify the light from that candle specifically! The entire Kingdom would be touched by the light!_

"You'll be able to just walk right into the Kingdom, no one will try to oppose you," Storm uttered aloud and she felt a knot of dread drop in her stomach.

"Yes, exactly," Gnosis concurred without noticing her distress. "And don't worry about the freezing part. We've got that covered as well." He reached into his bag once again and pulled out three silver bracelets. Storm gasped as she instantly recognized them.

"But…how did you get those? They were stolen 2000 years ago by the NightWings! They've been lost for…"

"We have our ways," Gnosis stated cryptically and returned the bracelets to his bag. "Now that I've explained it all to you, can we _please_ get on with the purpose of the current meeting?" He asked while returning to his spot at the front of the group.

His hopes were soon dashed as there was a commotion at the entrance flap and another member joined the meeting. "My apologies for being late, I had the worst time finding the place."

Storm sucked back a gasp and ducked behind Lotus. It was the RainWing she had attacked on the island. _Whale dung whale dung whale dung._ Storm cursed as the RainWing walked past her and made eye contact.

When the Rainwing saw her, she burst into a deep red, her eyes blazing with the same intensity.

"YOU!" She screeched. "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT STOLE THE BLUE PRINTS!"

Most of the dragons in the room looked at her with shock and fury while Gnosis looked calm and not all that surprised.

"Well, it looks like we have a spy in our ranks. It was a good effort young dragon," His oozy voice was now laced with calm anger. "But really, as soon as I saw you I knew you didn't belong but no worries!" He said pleasantly and reached for the wand at his arm. "I think it's about time you joined your mindless tribemates back on the Island. Initiates, cease her!" As he spoke Storm watched the other dragons prepare to attack. Sacred and Wisdom were blocking her way to the entrance while Discovery and the RainWing approached from the left.

However, Gnosis had failed to notice that Storm had an ally among their ranks. Storm and Lotus exchanged glances, nodded at each other, and sprang into action.

Working fast and in unison the two dragonesses pushed both Discovery and the RainWing into the wall of the tent opposite so the entrance. Their momentum tore down the wall and made the most of the room collapse on top of the dragons. Using this distraction to their advantage Lotus and Storm dashed towards the entrance only to be still blocked by the Wisdom and Sacred.

Sacred showed no hesitation in pouncing at Storm. Storm tucked her wings in close and allowed herself to be pushed onto her back where she used the momentum to kick Sacred off with her hind legs, launching the SkyWing into a just untangled Gnosis. Lotus, using her large size to her advantage, had simply rammed Wisdom through the entrance flap where he tumbled into the SeaWing that had been standing guard outside. They fell into a heap on the floor that Lotus and Storm easily jumped over. Outside the meeting room everything was just as they had left it, except that now there were definitely more dragons present and the noise had increased tenfold.

Storm and Lotus made a sprint for the exit just as Wisdom became disentangled from the SeaWing and the other Initiates emerged looking for them with furious expression.

Storm looked back towards the crowd of dragons blocking their escape. There was no way they would be able to push through the crowd quickly, they would have to go over.

She leapt out of the way just as the RainWing pounced at her. She felt a talon scrape against her heel but she was long gone by the time the RainWing had landed.

Storm's talons hit a nearby table as she landed hard, knocking over drinks and food dishes before quickly pushing off to jump onto another. Hopping from table to table Storm made her way across the room with Lotus following her lead.

Storm risked a glance behind her and saw that the Initiates were having a hard time keeping up. The already semi-drunk and rowdy crowd at the tavern were less than thrilled to find their food and drinks spilled. Storm could only imagine their confusion at suddenly having their table a mess only to have the actual culprit disappear before they even knew what was going on. As such, accusations were soon thrown in every direction, and then fists and talons.

It seemed the bar fight had slowed the Initiates, but certainly hadn't stopped them. Storm and Lotus reached the exit and barreled out of the tavern tent, kicking sand up behind them as they fled. Seconds later Wisdom and the RainWing emerged followed closely by the others. It was dark out now, the booths had closed for the night and the streets were practically empty.

Storm struggled to propel herself on the soft sand, exerting more energy than she would have otherwise done. However, the Initiates seemed to be having the same issue. The two dragonesses turned a sharp corner and Lotus suddenly tackled Storm into an empty booth. They had just jumped over the counter as Gnosis drifted around the corner. He stopped, panting, and gazed around frantically. Meanwhile Storm and Lotus tried to calm their breathing and remain as motionless as possible while they hid in the small storage area under the counter. It was silent for a while and Storm almost made the move to glance out from their hiding space when she heard a pair of talons hit the counter above them and someone lean in, looking around. The moons above created a faint silhouette of a SkyWing on the back wall.

He stayed for what felt like an eternity, but eventually he roared in frustration and his silhouette disappeared.

"Take to the skies, search for them!" He shouted and there was a chorus of replies followed by the flapping of wings. Lotus and Storm remained where they were for another several minutes before finally peeking out. The Initiates were gone. For now.

"Whale dung. Now they know what we look like," Storm whispered.

"At least we got some information," Lotus whispered in return.

"We?" Storm accused. " _I_ was the one doing all the talking! What were you doing?"

"Making sure BOTH of us didn't get killed," She retorted. "It amazes me how easily you can draw attention to yourself and get in trouble."

Storm almost argued but smiled instead. "Yeah, well this _is_ my first time being a spy." She joked, remembering how she had used that line with Canyon. She then quickly returned to business. "We might have learned a lot, but we aren't any closer to getting that map. And now they are after it as well _and_ already have what they need to attack the Ice Kingdom." _My tribe is in danger and I can't do anything to stop it!_

"That's not true. Remember, they said it was likely in the hoodoos to the South of here," Lotus reminded her. "At least that's a start."

Storm nodded, trying to think about the map and distract herself from the approaching danger that her tribe was facing.

"Wait, what are _hoodoos_?" Storm inquired. Whatever they were they sounded ridiculous.

"You'll find out when you see them," The MudWing winked. "Come on, we should get back to Canyon and Oryx. They will be furious with us so we should just get it over with."

Storm agreed in reluctance, not looking forward to the lecture they were probably going to receive. Lotus peeked her head over the counter and signaled it was safe to leave. Storm carefully crawled out of the booth and onto the cool sand alongside Lotus.

But they hadn't realized that someone else had been following them that night.

In an instant, both dragonesses were tackled to the ground as two figured jumped on them from above. Storm's face was slammed into the sand. It coated her nose, mouth and face but Storm ignored the irritation and tried to turn her head to snap at her attacker.

In an instant a SandWing's barbed tail wrapped around her neck, the poisonous tip resting precariously on her jugular vein. Storm stopped struggling and froze. She didn't dare even swallow least any movement cause the barbed end to puncture her skin.

The dragon on top of her spoke, "If you try to fight you'll be dead in an instant."

* * *

 **Author's note**

 **Hi friends! I just wanted to let you know the next update might be a bit later. There are a lot of changes I want to make to the next chapter AND it is a really busy week for me AND I still need to work on my other story, Healed, as well. Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoyed the chapter ;3**


	10. Fang and Ember

"If you try to fight you'll be dead in an instant," The SandWing threatened. By the sound of the voice Storm determined it was a male. "As soon as I saw you in the market I knew you were up to no good. Why else would an IceWing be in the desert?"

 _So he has been watching me all day. Dung! I should have been more careful!_ Storm reprimanded herself. It was perhaps a good thing she wasn't in the First Circle right now since they probably would have kicked her out for being so stupid.

Without moving her head Storm shifted her eyes to try and look at Lotus. She could see the MudWing was also on the ground with a small SkyWing sitting on top of her. Lotus could have easily thrown her off, but the assailant was pointing sharp dagger into the back of her neck. One strong stab would paralyze the MudWing.

Very carefully Storm tried to look to see her own attacker, but from the position of her head she could only see his chest which had a single, large diamond pattern spread across it. She recognized it instantly.

Her attacker was the ring thief she had seen while waiting outside of the herbal tent.

Storm's ears twitched in irritation and her tail began to sway.

"You!" She accused, temporarily forgetting herself. She felt his tail tip pinch into her skin as her throat vibrated from speaking. Storm clamped her mouth shut but her outburst had been enough to confuse him.

"Me?" He responded, as if there was some OTHER dragon sitting on top of her with his poisonous tail around her neck that she could be referring to.

"Wait, do you two _know_ each other?" The female SkyWing asked. She sounded pretty young which made her ability to take down a MudWing three times her size even more impressive. Even as she spoke she was tying up Lotus to keep her from escaping.

The SandWing seemed to become flustered at the question. "What? NO! Of course not…we just might have crossed paths in the market today, that's all."

Storm heard the SkyWing hum in disbelief. "But she _recognizes_ you. So that means she _saw_ you, and THAT means you were being sloppy."

With their faces still planted in the sand, Storm and Lotus exchanged confused gazes. _Really?_ Storm thought. _They're arguing NOW?_

The SandWing snorted in offense. "I was NOT being slopping, I just…"

"You were stealing something again weren't you?"

The two attackers seemed distracted by their disagreement so Storm didn't waste any time preparing for an escape attempt. As slow as the glacial movements she shuffled her talons from beneath her and moved them towards her neck in anticipation to grab the barbed tail. She needed to be as close as possible to snatch it quickly before he struck. When she was satisfied with the positioning she took a few shallow breaths in preparation, and grabbed his tail. She pulled it away from her neck while at the same time using her tail to whip him against his face.

It stunned him, and Storm pushed up with all her strength to knock him off of her. He fell into the sand and Storm leapt on top of him, still holding his tail end in her talon. He extended his legs out just as she landed and kicked her in the stomach. It ruined her momentum and she stopped too short. She had been hoping to swat him in the jaw and knock him out quickly, but she was now too far away to get enough strength in her hook.

Instead she reached out and wrapped her talons around his throat. She had no intention of killing this dragon, but she was hoping to at least prevent him from breathing fire in her face.

"STOP! Or I'll kill your friend!"

Both Storm and the SandWing froze and looked at the SkyWing as she held the dagger to Lotus' throat. She was gazing at Storm with more venom that a SandWing's tail. "If you so much as hurt him I will end her life."

Storm heart was pounding but before she could react the SandWing spoke.

"Ember, don't! We didn't come here tonight to kill anyone."

"Oh really?" Storm practically shouted her skepticism. Her blood was still pumping from the fight, making her a bit loud. "Then why did you capture us? You seemed pretty intent on sticking your tail in my neck a few seconds ago."

The SandWing shrugged. "I wasn't gonna KILL you. It was just intimidation." He sighed. "Look, we just wanted to get some information from you two, that's all."

Storm hissed in frustration. "Information about WHAT? What we could possible know that's so important?"

The SandWing blinked in confusion. "You're with the Order of the Black Talon, aren't you?"

"We saw you two go into a meeting with them," Ember added.

Both Lotus and Storm groaned.

"No we're not WITH them. We were _spying_ on them!" Storm explained. "Why do you think they were _chasing_ us you puffin brain?!"

Lotus chimed in a bit more hesitantly. "We're after information as well." The blade was still to her throat, but the SkyWing seemed to be listening. She looked to the SandWing, as if waiting for his orders.

"Ah, then I see there has been a misunderstanding." He smiled charmingly and Storm held back the urge to strangle him. He hadn't even _attempted_ to apologize. "So how about you get off of me and we can talk about this like civil dragons. How 'bout it?"

Storm narrowed her eyes and the SandWing gave her a wolfish grin.

"I mean, not that I mind you being on top of me or anything." He winked.

Storm hissed in disgust and climbed off, quickly getting out of range of his tail and mischievous smile. Despite her annoyance she couldn't help but blush at the implications. _The nerve of him! How vulgar! How rude! If a male in the Ice Kingdom ever spoke like that they would get a tail lash for sure._

An exasperated hiss from behind her caught Storm's attention. It had come from the SkyWing who seemed as fed up with the SandWing's antics as Storm was. Storm's eyes met with Lotus' and she inched towards the MudWing.

Without taking her eyes off the SandWing Storm angled her head slightly and spoke to her friend. "Are you alright?" Storm asked the MudWing when she was in ear shot. Lotus looked down at her tied up talons, then to the dragonet holding a knife against her throat and then back at Storm.

"I've been better," She admitted with a hiss of annoyance lacing her voice. Slowly and calmly the SandWing rose to his talons, shaking off the excess sand. Storm pushed away her annoyance with him for now and recalled the SkyWing had called him 'Fang'. She assumed that must be his name and cleared her throat to gather his attention.

"Alright then, _Fang_ , if this is to be a civil discussion then I demand you free my friend here as well," Storm demanded and tilted her head towards Lotus. The SkyWing hissed at Storm. Now that she didn't have her face on the ground she finally noticed the features of the small dragoness more clearly. Her scales were a crisp apple red and she had startling yellow eyes that matched the colour of the sun. Storm was surprised they didn't glow in the dark. She also looked younger than the SandWing, perhaps around Oryx's age. She wore several golden rings on her talons and had a ring on the flesh between her nostrils.

By the fierce glint in her eyes Storm was beginning to worry she would have to wrestle the knife out of the SkyWing's talons, but luckily it didn't come to that.

"She's right, Em. Let the MudWing go," Fang directed.

Ember hesitated, glowering at Fang. Finally she spit in the sand then groaned. "FINE, we'll just cut our prisoners loose will we? It's not like they could turn on us at any minute and escape," She complained but followed his orders. She turned the knife away from Lotus' throat and used it to cut the ropes from the MudWing's talons. Once Lotus was freed she backup towards Storm while Ember went to sit next to Fang.

The four dragons stared at each other cautiously.

Fang spoke first, "So now that no one is tied up or pinned to the ground, let's start over. Hi, my name is Fang and this is Ember," He tilted his head to the glowering SkyWing, "and we were wondering if you could answer some questions me have." He gave a jubilant smile and Storm snorted.

"Sorry but we're expected elsewhere, maybe another time," Storm said with mock politeness and began nudging Lotus forwards. Even though she had said it rather rudely it was the truth. Oryx and Canyon were probably worried sick.

The SandWing snorted in irritation, his tail swinging dangerously. "Look, ice-cube, either you give us that information or…"

"Or _what_?" Storm growled back. "You'll attack us again? Well that didn't end up so well for you last time so good luck!" Storm paused and his previous sentence ran through her head again. "Wait…WHAT did you just call me?"

Lotus tapped her wings against Storm. "Storm, please stop arguing, we have an issue…"

Fang blurted in, "Well from MY point of view you two were pretty helpless five minutes ago so I guess we DID do a pretty good job with our attack!" His frustrated grimace then slipped into a relaxed smirk. "Oh, and that's just my new nick-name for you. I've always wanted an IceWing friend to use it on!"

"Then you should save it for when you _actually_ get an IceWing friend," Storm responded.

Fang put a talon to his chest in mock hurt. "Come on, ice-cube. Don't be so _cold_." He then burst into a fit of giggles, nudging an unamused Ember while asking if she got the joke.

Storm shook her head in exasperation. "Ok, well, so long and don't ever talk to me again." Storm went to push Lotus forward again but the MudWing was planted in place, looking towards the sky.

"Lotus, we have to go!" Storm insisted and tried to move her friend only to be pushed away with a small flick of the MudWing's wings.

"Storm…we have a problem."

Finally Storm followed Lotus' gaze to the sky and saw what was causing her concern. The Order was in the sky, closing in on them. Gnosis and the others were scanning the ground below. Sometimes one of them would fly down to the ground to check something out but would return with a disappointed shake of their head. _Because they're still looking for us!_ Storm's stomach did a nauseating flip. They had to get out of there.

Behind her she heard Ember swear and when she turned her gaze on them she saw the SkyWing was wide-eyed with fear. Fang, on the other talon, wasn't afraid but it was obvious he was not eager to be caught by the order.

"Storm," Lotus nudged her. "We have to go! NOW!"

"Wait!" Fang called out and blocked their path. Storm nearly swiped at him. _What is he doing! Does he WANT to get caught by the Order?_

But that was not the case.

"Follow me, we know a way out of the market that will keep us hidden," Fang urgently spoke, glancing towards the oncoming dragons.

Storm hesitated and glanced towards Lotus, but the MudWing's face was only a mirror for Storm's own terrified expression. _We don't really have a choice, do we?_ Storm knew she was taking a major risk, but she couldn't afford to decline. Not with the order moments away from seeing them.

"Fine, where do we go?"

Fang seemed relieved that she didn't object. He signaled for Ember to join them before turning to Storm. "Just follow me and stay close. _Don't_ fall behind."

The SandWing ducked behind the booth that Lotus and Storm had first hid in. Keeping to the shadows he quickly weaved in between the tents and stands, going in the opposite direction of the oncoming Initiates.

Ember followed Fang close, then Lotus, and finally Storm at the back of the group. She desperately hoped her white scales wouldn't give her away. Finally they reached the back of a booth that was different than the others. It was larger, square and made entirely of wood whereas the others only had a wooden base. It looked more like a crate than a stand to sell goods.

"What is this?" Storm whispered but received no answer. On the back wall was a simple door with a large lock keeping it closed. Fang took off one of his earrings and began to pick the lock. It took him a minute or so but the lock finally popped off and fell on the sand with a thud. Fang opened the door and Storm was hit with the smell of damp and rotting cloth.

"Ta-da!" Fang exclaimed, motioning for Storm to enter. With no windows anywhere on the building the room inside was pitch black. Storm grimaced.

"I'd really rather not…"

Fang rolled his eyes. "Relax ice-cube, it's not like I'm going to lock you in here and leave you for dead or anything."

Storm stared at him with wide eyes. "Well I wasn't worried about that until NOW!"

"UGH, JUST GO IN ALREADY!" Ember growled and shoved Storm through the door. The IceWing crashed face first in a stack of folded blankets that smelled like rotting whale. With more grace the other three dragons followed her in and slammed the door shut behind, flooding the room with an impenetrable night.

"Now what?" She heard Lotus ask. There was a pause and the sound of someone dragon their talons along the walls.

"Well, I just need to find where it is…" Fang's voice dropped off and he breathed a plumb of fire. For an instant the room was made bright and shadows danced along the walls. In the brief seconds of illumination Storm saw that the room was filled with piles of carpets and tapestries. Then they were plunged back into darkness.

"Is this some sort of storage place?" Storm asked the darkness, hoping someone would answer.

Ember responded, "Yeah, some of the booths use it to keep extra stuff in…but by the smell of the place I guess they forgot about it."

"AH-HA!"

Fang's sudden exclamation made Storm jump. It was followed by the sound of an old wooden door being swung open.

"I found the tunnel entrance. Everybody in!" He breathed another plumb of fire long enough for everyone to locate him. He was on the other side of the room standing in front of what looked like a cellar door. When the light disappeared Storm tried to remember where he had been and carefully felt her way over. She only ran into something twice, but soon she reached out and touched something warm.

"Uh, whoever this is, would you mind letting go of my face?" The SandWing asked. Storm immediately retracted her talons and blushed.

"Erm, my apologies," She sputtered.

"Oh, it's just you ice-cube. Don't worry, I don't mind you touching my face," He said and Storm just KNEW he was winking or doing something else dumb.

Storm then felt someone run into the back of her. By the annoyed huff she knew it was Ember. "Jeez, IceWing! What's with you and not going through doors? Can we just GO already?"

"I'm not taking one more step until I can see where I'm going!" Storm argued back.

Another set of talon-steps joined them as Lotus approached.

"This is ridiculous," She said. "Here, let me through. I'll light the way." After some awkward shuffling around in the dark Lotus finally reached the entrance to the tunnel.

With short bursts of fire every so often Lotus entered the tunnel and the other's followed. The tunnel itself was surprisingly damp and cool. The sand down here was moist and clung to Storm's talons and between her toes.

They had been walking for a few minutes in silence and Storm decided to speak up. "Why is this tunnel even here? I didn't realize that selling carpets required such secrecy."

She heard Fang breath out a laugh. "Before that place was used to store carpets it was where the tavern kept all their extra alcohol during the war. They needed this secret tunnel to bring in important drinks that were illegal to have."

With that question answered the group walked in silence once again until Storm finally smelled the warm, but fresh, air that indicated the end of the tunnel.

She let out a sigh of relief as they emerged beneath the wide, starry sky. A gentle breeze ruffled her wings. Even though it was the desert and sucked in every way, it was still better than being stuck in that tunnel.

"See, I told you I knew what I was doing." Fang sidled up to her and grinned. "Don't worry, you can thank me later."

Storm didn't say anything but was tempted to remind him that they probably wouldn't have even ended up in this situation if they hadn't attacked her in the first place.

Storm looked around to see how far they had gone from the market and quickly panicked when she couldn't see a single landmark she recognized. She shifted her head around but in every direction there was only sand as far as the eye could see. Fear was starting to set in.

She snapped her gaze on Fang. "Where have you taken us? How do we get back?"

The male put his talons up defensively. "Calm down, alright? Our priority was to get as far away from the Order as possible and now we are safe. I can take you back into the market tomorrow but right now we should stay away."

Lotus came up next to her. "He's right. Let's just lay low for a while until they stop searching."

"But what about Oryx and Canyon?" Storm nagged. She was eager to get back to them as soon as possible. Lotus only shrugged.

"They will just have to wait."

Storm closed her eyes and took some calming breaths. _Great_. _We're in the middle of nowhere with no help other than these mysterious dragons who may or may not be trying to kill us._

Storm was brought out of her thoughts as Fang wrapped a chummy wing around her. "Don't look so sour, ice-cube. You and Lotus can stay the night with us!"

"What?" Ember and Storm demanded at the same time.

Lotus, however, sighed with relief. "That would be great." She nudged Storm harshly in the ribs. " _Right_ , Storm?"

Storm hissed and rubbed her side. "Fine. Thank you, that would be great," She said tightly.

Fang dipped his head. "Of course, and we're glad to welcome you. _Right,_ Ember?" He shot the SkyWing a significant look.

Ember grimaced, then spit in the sand once again and struck Storm with her glowing orange eyes. "Just don't touch my stuff, IceWing."

It didn't escape Storm's notice that Lotus hadn't been given the same warning, but she let it slide for now.

"Great, so it's decided then. You'll come back with us," Fang rejoiced and began fluttering his wings in preparation to take off. Storm had to close her eyes and turn her face aside as the sand was strewn about like a little sandstorm.

Storm released a disgruntled sigh.

It looked like she was in for another long night.

* * *

The hideout was not far. After a ten minute flight they arrived at a large, sandy cliff that rose from the desert sand like a polar bear poking its head out of the water. Storm noticed that there was a small cave entrance at the base of the cliff. Tufts of dry grass desperately clung to the top of the mound and around the entrance. Storm couldn't help but be reminded of fur.

"Ta-da!" Fang exclaimed with pride as he landed. "Home sweet home!"

Ember simply rolled her eyes and entered the cave without so much as looking back.

Storm and Lotus landed beside each other. Storm inspected the entrance more closely, but as her wing brush against the edges some of the sand came loose and fell on her head. She let out a furious hiss as Fang laughed and Lotus pretended not to.

"This doesn't seem all that stable," She noted tightly and shook of the sand, but it was hopeless. She could already feel the small grains digging under her scales and getting between her extra horns. _Great. Just great._

"Don't get your tail in a knot, ice-cube. I assure you this place is safe. Now come on, I'll show you around." Without waiting for them to follow Fang entered the cave, leaving Lotus and Storm alone. The MudWing's scales were saturated with moonlight, making her scales appear almost as creamy white as Oryx's.

"He just left us alone? Isn't he worried we'll run off?" Storm asked.

Lotus shook her head in defeat. "He knows we have nowhere else to go. Besides, we need food and water which they should have."

Storm tipped her head to the side, trying to shake off more sand. "Is that why you agreed to come here? Because we needed supplies?"

"That was part of the reason." Lotus looked back towards the cave entrance to make sure no one was lingering. "The other reason I wanted to come here is to figure out who exactly these two dragons are and how they're connected to the Order."

Storm furrowed her brow in concern. "So you don't trust them? Do you think they'll betray us?"

The MudWing sighed. "It's hard to say, but I am planning on asking a few questions myself. Information is valuable, maybe they'll offer up something in exchange for what we know."

Storm blinked. She hadn't even considered that they could do some interrogations as well. She clenched her fists in determination. "Yes! That's a great idea! So what's the plan? How will we get the information out of them?"

Lotus rubbed her neck and gave Storm a suspiciously gentle smile. "Listen…just let me do the talking this time, alright?"

Storm balked in surprise, and then snorted. "What is _that_ supposed mean?"

"Well the last time _you_ asked the questions we got chased out of a tavern by a cult."

Storm went to argue but found nothing to say. Instead she ducked her head in embarrassment and shuffled her talons in the sand. "Ok. I see your point."

"Are you two coming in or not?" Fang called from the mouth of the cave. His eyes glittered with mischief and perhaps something else. Or maybe it was just the starlight playing tricks.

"Yes, be there in a second!" The MudWing returned his call. Lotus and Storm gave each other one last reassuring nod before following the SandWing in.

They entered the torch-lit tunnel as descended downwards into the network of dens and chambers. Storm let out a sigh of relief as the cooler, underground environment soothed her hot scales. At first Storm was expecting modest accommodations, something similar to her own home back in the Ice Kingdom. But this was not the case. As they went deeper the sandy floor was shuffled beneath a soft purple carpet that looked more at home in an aristocrat's house.

Storm felt her curiosity pique. _Fang and Ember seemed to be no more than petty thieves; at least that is the impression I got from them. But this feels out of place._

Soon they were led into a large chamber that seemed to be the center axis which all other tunnels and rooms fed into. Despite the lack of windows it was extremely well lit, with lanterns hanging from the ceiling and plenty of beautiful crystal lamps resting on exquisitely carved oaken tables.

Feathery couches made of silk and golden thread were pushed alongside the left wall and to the right was a messy shelf full of scrolls. Some looked brand new whereas others appeared so old that they might turn to dust if someone touched them.

"So, what do you think of our home?" Fang asked and handed Lotus and Storm a leather pouch filled with water.

"It's very…extravagant." Lotus carefully answered. The MudWing's suspicious lilt did not escape Storm.

 _Good. She thinks this is mega weird too. How can they afford all this stuff?_

Something on a nearby table caught Storm's eyes. It was a little stone statue, but it looked like it had been buried for a thousand years. Its details eroded away or obscured by hard packed mud.

Storm approached the object and picked it up, rotating it around. It had a carefully imprinted texture like scales and it bore some resemblance to a dragon. Storm reasoned at one point it might have been a dragon rearing up on its hind legs, but now it just kind of looked like a bumpy potato.

What was strange about the statue was the place where the head should be. While the head had broken off long ago, there seemed to be two stubs where neck would have connected. It was as if…

 _As if this statue was two headed! This must be a statue of Siv and Anka!_ The Ice dragon concluded.

Suddenly the statue was ripped from her grasp by Ember, who blew a furious jet of smoke in her face. "I _told_ you not to touch my stuff!"

"That statue; where did you get it?" Storm demanded, ignoring Ember's warning.

"That's none of your business." The SkyWing gave Storm a look full of daggers.

Storm stood tall and unconsciously rattled her horns for intimidation. "It _is_ my business! That statue is an IceWing relic."

"Really?" Fang chimed in. Unlike Ember, the SandWing looked more intrigued than skeptical. "How can you tell?"

Storm hesitated, feeling a little embarrassed. "W-well, if you look at the statue here you can see that there were originally two heads. In the Ice Kingdom we have a legend about a two headed dragon and she is usually depicted like this: rearing up on her hind legs…and if her heads were still there they would be facing in opposite directions."

Storm gasped as she remembered where she had seen that depiction before. It had been all over the scrolls she found while snooping around the temple. But what was the connection?

After a nudge from Lotus, Storm returned to the present conversation. "Uh, so anyway, it's an IceWing relic. Now where did you find it?"

"Hmm," Fang hummed. "What a coincidence. It seems we both have questions we want to ask. So how about we do a little exchange…"

Storm rolled her eyes. She had already played this game with Canyon when they had first met. Luckily she was more prepared this time. "You want an exchange of information? Well how about this: We'll take turns asking questions. A question for a question. Lotus and I will go first," Storm dictated and looked to Lotus. The MudWing nodded. This was what they had planned.

When Storm looked back to Fang he wore a grimace, probably upset that Storm had anticipated his idea. He quickly fixed his expression to his usual grin.

"Great, so we're on the same page! Go ahead and ask the first question then," He spoke with barely concealed annoyance.

Storm was about to speak but slammed her mouth shut. As promised she would let Lotus to the asking.

Fang and Ember seemed surprised when the MudWing stepped forward and cleared her throat. "This first question should be pretty simple. What is your connection with the Order of the Black Talon?"

Fang sighed and seemed reluctant to answer. "So…don't freak out, but we kinda work for them."

"WHAT?" Storm yelled and Lotus inhaled sharply before growling. _So they ARE in cahoots after all! Were they just stalling for time while the Order comes and gets us?_

"Please, don't freak out!" He raised his talons up defensively. "It's purely business what we do with the Order." Fang sighed and his wings sagged. "Look, we're treasure hunters, alright? Clients pay us to find them animus artifacts and right now the Order has hired us on to get them some stuff."

Despite her immense annoyance Storm felt something twitch deep inside of her, something she thought she had gotten rid of long ago, but now seemed to have gathered strength with only a minute amount of encouragement.

"You mean, you're actual real-life treasure hunters?" She breathed. As a young dragonet she had once dreamed of becoming a treasure hunter, and now she was meeting the REAL thing! She looked at Fang with wide-eyed wonder and tried to stifle the ecstatic dragonet that was freaking out inside of her. Fang seemed to become flustered under her gaze but then quickly worked his charm.

"Yes, I am the real deal," he boasted with his chest puffed out.

"So you're tomb-raiders," Lotus hissed, certainly not as impressed as Storm was. "Actually, you're more like Scavengers, sneaking around and stealing dragons' treasure."

"Um, no," Ember argued, finally speaking after being silent for so long. "We only take things from DEAD dragons. Like, _really_ dead dragons. They're not using it anymore so what's the issue? Anyway, it's our turn to ask again."

In a moment of realization, Storm's excitement quickly turned to anger. "Hang on…so YOU are the ones that gave the Order the enchanted candle?!"

Fang's eyes narrowed. "How do you know about that?"

Storm tossed her water-skin aside and stomped up to him. "You INSUFFERIBLE PILE OF WHALE DUNG!" She yelled and then took a calming breath. She struggled to control her voice as she gazed up at the SandWing. "Do you have _any_ idea what you've just given the Order?"

"We don't get paid to ask questions," Ember butt in. "We just hand the thing over and collect our money."

"Then you are a fool!" Storm lashed her tail back and forth. She glared at Fang and Ember. "Because of you two the Order now has what they need to attack my tribe!"

Ember and Fang staggered in shock.

"But… we just gave them a candle and some bracelets!" The SandWing defended but he had a guilty glint in his eyes. He stared at the ground as Storm's words sunk in. "They must have some powerful enchantments on them," He spoke somberly.

Storm nodded. "They do. The candle is enchanted to…"

"Ah _EM_!" Lotus cleared her throat loudly and bore her rosy eyes into Storm. The IceWing quickly bit her tongue. _Seal guts! I've just been standing her blabbing away all our secrets. Why can't I learn to shut up?"_

Timidly Storm stepped to the side and let Lotus take the stage.

"If you want to know more about the artifacts then you'll have to count that as one of your questions." The MudWing hit them with in intimidating stare. Unlike Storm, she wouldn't be giving away any information for free.

Fang raised a questioning brow at Storm but then turned his attention to Lotus. "Fine, I guess it's our turn to ask," He huffed. "We'll ask the same question. What is _your_ connection with the Order?"

"It's complicated," Lotus answered.

"Doesn't matter, just answer the questions," Fang ordered.

"And don't skimp out on the details!" Ember added.

Lotus kept it as simple as possible. She explained that the Order had captured their tribemates and, as Storm so naively blurted out, are attempting to attack the Ice Kingdom. As Lotus talked Storm became lost in thought.

 _As frustrating as this whole incident has been, maybe we can use this to our advantage. We could REALLY use some treasure hunters to help us find the map._ Storm hated to admit it, but they needed Fang and Ember's help. There was no way they were going to find the map in time to save Caracal on their own. Storm frowned at the thought. Fang and Ember were about as trustable as a ravenous polar bear, but she would have to risk it.

She would risk anything to get Caracal back.

However, another issue soon came to mind. Payment.

Ember and Fang were professionals and their services probably came with a hefty price tag to match.

 _What can I offer them? Certainly not money, but perhaps something just as valuable. What would Canyon do?_

Storm blinked as an idea struck her, but she instantly hesitated. It would be risky for sure, and they may not accept it. But it was all she had to offer. With a deep breath Storm rejoined the conversation just as Lotus was finishing her answer.

"And so, our goal is to take down the Order before they attack the Ice Kingdom and to free our tribemates," She said to an intrigued audience of two.

"Hmm," Fang hummed, sounding impressed. "Well it seems you guys _do_ know a lot about the Order." He then smiled. "I hope you'll be willing to share more of this information."

"Of course," Storm spoke up abruptly. "But for a price."

Fang tilted his head in confusion and Ember stood up from where she had been sitting on the couch.

"What do you mean 'for a price'? I thought we were exchanging info, fair and square," The SkyWing complained.

"Storm, what are you doing?" Lotus hissed under her breath.

Ignoring their comments Storm stood tall and met Fang's eyes. "I have a business proposition for you if you're interest."

Fang's eyes sparkled and he leaned closer, practically touching her snout. "I'm always interested in what you say ice-cube, but go ahead, what's your proposition?"

Storm pushed his face away and cleared her throat to hide her blush. "I offer you all the information you want. You can ask me an unlimited amount of questions which I will answer honestly and thoroughly." Storm paused to let this sink in and then continued. "In exchange, I want to hire you two."

Ember let out a furious growl. " _Hire_ us? You expect us to take your information as payment? Pfft, yeah right."

This is where the risk came in. Storm did have a lot of information to give, but whether they would believe her was another matter.

Lotus seemed confused at first but quickly caught on and thankfully joined in. "You can ask me any questions as well, although Storm knows more than I do. She was the one who investigated the Order's their hide out and saw their leader."

Storm sent Lotus a silent thank you. The MudWing was helping her bait the treasure hunters by letting small details slip out. It was enough to stir their curiosity.

Ember did look mildly curious but was still grimacing. Fang, however, was rubbing his chin in consideration. "That's an interesting proposition, ice-cube. May I ask _why_ you want to hire us? It's only fair I know what I'm getting myself into before I accept."

Storm swallowed her nervousness, but her dry throat made her choke on it. _I should have drunk that water when I had the chance._

"I suppose you're right," She acquiesced. "I need your help finding an artifact called Jerboa's map."

The treasure hunters' eyes widened and they drew their heads together, whispering aggressively. Lotus and Storm sat in silence for several moments before the two finally pulled their heads away.

"That's a really old artifact. I'm not sure it will be possible to find," Fang spoke.

"Don't worry, we have a lead," Lotus contributed. Storm realized Lotus was right. The Order had mentioned something about the hoodoos…whatever THOSE were.

Fang clasped his talons together in thought, but Storm knew they were wearing him down. He had a fascinated glint in his eyes. His curiosity was getting the better of him. Ember was also looking more agreeable than before.

Finally the SandWing spoke. "How about an alternative idea: We get to ask one, no, TWO questions in advance. If you can answer both of them then we will help you find the map, but we STILL get to ask as many questions as we want after that. Deal?" He offered his talon to Storm for a shake. Storm looked back at Lotus who gave a helpless shrug and nodded. It was the best they were going to do.

"Deal," Storm confirmed and shook his talon. She fluttered her wings to let off some nervous energy. She had no idea what he would ask, but she prayed to whatever spirits where nearby that she would have the knowledge to answer them.

"So what's your first question?" Lotus prompted. She was just as eager as Storm to get this over and done.

A coy grin spread over Fang's face. "Oh, is an easy question, don't worry." He turned to Storm. "So…do you have a boyfriend?"

Storm inhaled sharply and must have made a ridiculous face since Fang automatically started laughing. It didn't last very long since he got pummelled in the face by a pillow. Ember had thrown it from where she stood near the couch.

"FANG!" She scolded. "YOU SAND-BRAINED IDIOT!"

"She SAID I could ask any question," Fang point out, amused. He was currently using the first pillow that had been thrown at him as a shield from the other objects being hurled his way.

Storm took this moment to compose herself. _Well, I_ did _agree to answer any questions._

Blushing slightly she answered. "No, I don't have one." Although as she spoke an image of Canyon whisked through her mind.

Ember had finally run out of things to throw, giving Fang the chance to return his attention to Storm. "Hmm, interesting. I'm a little surprised to be honest."

He left it at that and Storm had a feeling he would be bringing it up again later.

"Alright, now for our second question and this time _I'm_ asking it." Ember strode forward to face Storm. "I need to make sure you're not full of dung and bluffing, so my question won't be nearly as easy." She threw a quick, scolding glare at Fang. The SandWing had no pretenses of looking sorry and flashed the SkyWing a toothy grin.

"Anyway, are you ready?" Ember asked Storm.

Storm nodded since her mouth was too dry to answer. She pretended it was because of the dry air but she knew nervousness was playing a larger part. Quickly she retrieved her water pouch and took a long sip. "Go ahead," Storm croaked out.

Ember thought for a moment and then smiled coyly. Storm's heart went to her throat.

"If you _really_ know as much as you say you do, then answer me this: _Why_ does the Order want to attack the Ice Kingdom?"

Storm's brain froze. She had no idea what the answer was. "Um…could you elaborate please?"

Ember raised her eyebrow. Storm knew that Ember was aware she was struggling. Nonetheless the SkyWing played along. "It just seems strange that the Order wants to attack the Ice Kingdom. Really, what could they possibly gain? I just want you to tell me what the deal is," She said simply.

"Ah…yes…well the answer is very simple for you see…" Storm racked her brain.

 _Ok, I can figure this out. I have all the pieces now I just need to put them all together._ Her hopelessly desperate optimism was the only thing keeping her from admitting defeat just yet.

 _So what do I know about the Order? Well, first of all they are obsessed with ancient "magic" and animus artifacts. They're looking for long forgotten secrets and power…which isn't helping me right now…_

"If you can't answer it just let me know," Ember said and inspected her talons.

"Just give me a second!" Storm snapped and dove back into her thoughts.

 _I also know they want Jerboa's map. That probably means they are after something that is not on any other map…or something that has been hidden away for a long time…_

Storm eyes mysteriously gravitated back towards the broken statue of the two headed dragon. She recalled the images that had been all over the Order's scrolls in the temple and suddenly the pieces snapped together.

Her eyes widened as the realization dawned on her.

Meanwhile Ember let out an impatient puff of smoke from her nose. "If you don't answer my question in the next 10 second then the deal is…"

"I know the answer," Storm interrupted with confidence. Everyone looked at her with surprise.

"Really?" Lotus asked. She rushed over to Storm and pulled their heads together to whisper, "Are you just bluffing or do you actually know?"

Storm's ears twitched nervously. "I have an educated guess but I am confident it's correct."

"Hello! We're still waiting for the answer!" Ember growled.

Lotus gave her a reassuring pat on the wings and Storm turned to give them her answer. "The Order is after something that is in the Ice Kingdom, something old and lost to the ages."

Fang nodded, "Uh-huh, and that is…."

Storm spoke with conviction, "They're after the lost animus treasure of Sivanka."

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **WOW this is my longest chapter so far! No _wonder_ it took me so long to write it up! Anyway, sorry for the delay and I hope you enjoy ;3**


	11. A deal struck

Storm spoke with conviction, "They're after the lost animus treasure of Sivanka."

Lotus, Ember and Fang looked at her like she had just spoken in Scavenger-tongue.

"The lost what of what-now?" Fang scrunched up his muzzle and looked at Ember for clarification. The SkyWing simply barked a laugh.

"That sounds like the biggest pile of camel turds I've ever heard."

Storm growled her frustration, "No, it's true! In the Ice Kingdom we have a legend about the first animus dragon. She created a hoard of magical treasure but it was lost when she was banished from Kingdom…also she had two heads _just_ like that statue had." Storm jutted her chin towards the broken figurine that Ember had snatched away. Storm held her breath as the tomb raiders exchanged wary glances.

"And you're suuuure the Order is after this…treasure?" The SkyWing droned with a skeptical lilt.

"Positive!" Storm affirmed while pretending not to feel the strings of doubt weaving across her mind. "Besides, they had symbols of two headed dragons all over their hideout. It can't just be a coincidence."

"It would also explain why they are going to the Ice Kingdom," Fang pointed out and Storm nearly kissed him with relief. He was actually considering her idea! "I mean, why _else_ would anyone go to the Ice Kingdom unless there was treasure involved?" He added as an involuntary shiver traveled through his scales. "It's a terrible place!"

Storm's urge to kiss him quickly vanished.

"So what _kinds_ of animus artifacts were lost? Were they valuable?" Ember followed up. The intrigued spark in the young dragoness' eye was enough to tell Storm she was winning her over.

Meanwhile Lotus remained silent but the worried sheen in her eyes did not go unnoticed by Storm. Leaving the MudWing to her thoughts Storm addressed the treasure hunters' queries.

"I can tell you everything later, but do you accept my answer? Do we have a deal?"

Storm felt her heart lurch as Fang and Ember glanced at each other with unreadable expressions. Finally Ember nodded and Fang gave a lopsided smile before tuning to Storm. "I'd say we have an accord."

Storm couldn't hide her sigh of relief and she exchanged a shy, triumphant smile with Lotus. "I can't thank you enough," Storm gulped down her anxieties and ushered out her gratitude. Ember snorted and poked Storm sharply in the chest.

"Don't forget, _IceWing_ , you still owe us." With those final words the SkyWing vanished into a nearby tunnel. Fang's next words were much friendlier.

"Don't let Ember bother you. She's just upset you were able to bargain a deal out of us." His friendly demeanour made Storm relax. Now that Ember was gone the tension in the room and went with her.

"I am just grateful you accepted," Storm admitted as Lotus came to sit next to her.

"Not to sound impatient, but now that we've settled the deal when can we get searching?" The MudWing inquired. Fang shrugged.

"Anytime I suppose."

"Them tomorrow," Storm decided. "We need to find the map as soon as possible."

Fang nodded but raised a brow. "So now that you have to answer all my questions, will you tell me _why_ you need the map so badly?"

Storm groaned. It was a long story and she was beginning to feel the weight of the day on her eyelids, forcing them to droop. "Well, long story short we need the map in exchange for a hostage's life."

Fang's eyes widened. "Wha- Ice cube, why didn't you tell me! Just because I'm a business man doesn't mean I'm heartless! I would have helped!"

Storm wanted to believe that but she didn't know him well enough to gauge if he was being honest. She couldn't help but wonder if he would have even _believed_ her if she had told him in the first place. Even she had to admit that it was a pretty incredible story, one that many would find skeptical. "I can give you more details about it later; right now I am too exhausted."

"Oh, sure," Fang replied, disappointment lacing his tone. "Um…I guess you can sleep anywhere you want…except in Ember's room obviously because she would probably bite you." He then slid the females a sly grin. "Of course, if either of you wanted to stay in MY room-"

"We'll just sleep here, thanks," Lotus interrupted curtly. "We'll leave first thing in the morning."

Now that Fang was aware of their predicament he understood their eagerness, although he was still hesitant. "You said you had a lead for the map. Is it far?"

Storm paused in her in her search for a place to sleep and shrugged. "I don't know. Apparently it's located somewhere in the hoodoos."

For an instant Fang's brow creased in confusion but then went expressionless. "Hmm. Interesting."

 _Uh-oh. Does he know something we don't? Why is he being so MYSTERIOUS all of a sudden?_

"Is there something wrong with that?" Storm fretted.

"What? Oh…it's nothing. Don't worry about it." He clasped his talons together. "Well if you two ladies need anything my room is the last room down the tunnel to your left. Don't hesitate to come get me if you need a drink of water or someone to cuddle with-"

"We'll be fine, _thanks_ ," Lotus urged.

With one final wink Fang departed. Once he was out of ear shot the females both released an exhausted sigh.

"What kind of mess have we just gotten ourselves into?" Storm groaned, rubbing her face.

Lotus moved in next to her and wrapped a comforting wing around her frame. "I know it's overwhelming but I think it was a good idea getting their help…even if they are kinda mysterious." The MudWing's pale pink eyes gazed down the dark tunnel where Fang had disappeared. Her expression was unreadable and Storm was getting fed up with all these complications.

 _I just want things to be simple again! I just want to be back in the Ice Kingdom, waking up for school while my father is making breakfast and my mother is sitting in the living room. Then me and Qana would eat together and walk to school. When did my life become so hard!? Why did my family have to die?_

But deep down there was a part of Storm that was thankful to have met the friends she was with now, even if it meant being in this horrendous situation.

Storm dragged her talons down her face, not hard enough to break the skin but enough to make her face look like a droopy walrus. She released a groan. "Let's just get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll go get Oryx and Canyon. Hopefully they'll still be there."

Quietly the two dragons went around extinguishing the various lamps and candles. They left one lantern on so that they could have _some_ light in the windowless room.

As the lonely flame cast weak shadows along the sandstone wall Storm and Lotus curled up on the soft carpet and tried to get some rest of the days ahead.

* * *

"Wake up, IceWing."

Storm felt a hard jab in her ribs and blinked opened her eyes. The lack of any windows tricked her brain into thinking it was still night and her tired limbs refused to get up. Her whole body felt heavy like it was full of sand.

"I _said_ get up! Are you deaf or what?" By now Strom recognized the strident voice of Ember.

"Knock it off," Fang's huskier voice scolded and Storm felt Ember's brooding presence back off with a hiss. A moment later a gentler talon rested against her arm. "Storm, its morning. Time to get up."

Storm lifted her head and peaked at him with a semi opened eye. The only light in the room was the candles and lamps that had been relit. Not far from her she saw Lotus sitting up on her haunches looking alert. Storm turned a wry eye back to Fang. "How can you tell?"

"I'm a SandWing, I can _sense_ the sun!" He put his talons to his temples and closed his eyes in concentration. "Hmm, yes, yes. I sense that it is early morning. The sun has been up for a few hours."

Storm narrowed her eyes at him. He opened his eyes and gave a lopsided smile.

Ember rolled her eyes. " _Or_ maybe you know all that because you were just outside five minutes ago."

Storm's squint deepened as Fang played off the accusation. "What! Are you accusing me of being a LIAR? Well I never…" He shook his head in forlorn despair. All the females in the room let out exasperated sighs.

"So I assume we're going to come up with a plan for today?" Lotus asked while arching her back in an indulgent stretch.

"Actually Ember and were talking it over and we think you guys should just go on ahead to meet your friends or whatever while we get our supplies ready," Fang explained while dusting some sand off his shoulder. "Then around sun high we can all meet up at the hoodoos. What do ya think?"

Storm stood up on sleep-wearing legs. Her brain felt foggy so she just rolled with the idea. "Well, sure, sounds fine to me…"

"Hold on," Lotus ordered, her gaze going back and forth between the two treasure hunters. "How do we know you're actually going to show up and not ditch us?"

Fang opened his mouth and then closed it again, trying to think of answer but Ember quickly stepped forward. "You're just gonna have to _trust_ us." She pointed an accusatory talon at Storm. "We're trusting _you_ to make good of your promise to give us information, so you need to have some faith in us."

"Yeah! What she said!" Fang agreed with a firm nod.

This didn't sit well with Storm at all. Lotus was right; they didn't have any guarantee that the two would show up at all. Should she risk it?

"Perhaps I should stay with you then…just as a precaution…" Storm offered. If need be she would volunteer to stay with them, even though she was desperate to see Canyon and Oryx again.

In one swift motion Fang sidled next to her, their scales brushing together. "Aww Ice cube, I'm glad you want to spend more time with us."

"No," She hissed, pushing him away. "I want to keep an _eye_ on you."

"Why not keep both eyes on me? I don't mind." He flexed one of his biceps and Storm was grateful when Ember wacked him on the head with her wing. He immediately went into a fit of giggles.

The SkyWing mumbled something under her breath, rubbing her temples. Storm gave a smug grin. She wasn't ashamed to admit it was fun seeing the SkyWing so annoyed. The smile was quickly dropped when Ember turned to her. "And no, you can't stay with us. Neither of you can!"

Lotus stepped forward, towering over the small dragon. "And why not?"

Ember took a step forward as well, not caring that she was 1/3 the size of the MudWing. "Because my patience with you two is running thin! You're just going to have to trust us like we're trusting you."

"But…" Storm began only to be hushed by the SkyWing.

"No more discussion. Now I want you two out of here in two minutes or the deal is off!"

The SkyWing spread her wings wide and pushed Storm and Lotus towards the exit. Storm seriously doubted the deal was going to be ended that easily but she was already on bad terms with the small dragoness. It was probably best to just leave and avoid making an enemy.

"Ok, just one last thing thought," Lotus added as they were being shoved out the door. " _Where_ in the hoodoos will we find you?"

"Look for the dragon shaped hoodoos. We will meet there," she spoke and suddenly they were thrown out into the hot sand. Storm had to close her eyes before the burning sun scorched her unprepared retinas. She carefully blinked them open but still had to place her wing over her face.

"And how are we supposed to get back?" Storm demanded. She still had no idea where they were and every direction looked identical: sand as far as the eye could see. For a moment she was worried Ember wouldn't answer but the SkyWing barked out a response. "You see those flags?" She pointed to their left. Storm squinted but eventually she saw a speck that could _maybe_ be a flag. "That is the market. Fly in the direction and you'll be back."

Without so much as a 'farewell' Ember turned tail and retreated back into the cave.

* * *

"The nerve of them!" Storm ranted to Lotus as they flew across the desert. It was barely morning but the heat was already atrocious. Still, no amount of heat could ever hinder Storm from complaining. " _We're_ the clients; they can't treat us like this!"

"Well they did," Lotus responded dryly. Storm suspected she was getting annoyed with the IceWing's nagging. "And they did have a point. They have put their trust is us, well, in _you_. The least we can do is to return the favour."

Storm released a sigh. She knew it was fair but that still didn't mean she had to _like_ it. In addition to her annoyance Storm couldn't help but feel anxious every time she thought of the deal she had made. Streaks of doubt and unease coursed through her. "Lotus, do you think making a deal with them was a good decision?"

The MudWing didn't answer right away. A rogue gust of wind passed by, rocking the dragons in the air as if they were floating on a wave. Finally she spoke with defeat. "It was risky for sure, but if they make good of their promise than I think it will be worth it."

Storm gulped, or tried to at least. Her throat was as course as sand and equally as dry. "And if they _don't_ make good of their promise?"

Lotus shrugged. "Then it was a waste of time, but one that wasn't necessarily our fault."

Storm felt slightly reassured. She just hoped Canyon would think of it that way as well. The remainder of the flight was spent in silence, both dragons deep in thought. That, and Storm was starting to feel the draining effects of the heat and decided that she should preserve as much energy possible. Luckily they soon spotted the familiar streets and colourful tents of the market. At this hour of morning the marketplace was nothing like the bustling and chaotic river of dragons that it had been the other afternoon. Indeed, the only dragons present were the shop owners as they moved quickly but calmly to set up their booths in preparation for another busy day.

The palm tree they were looking for was easy to find as there was a very anxious looking SkyWing and silver SandWing sitting in its shade. Storm cracked a smile as she approached the two males. She had to admit, even to just herself, that she had missed them. Oryx spotted them first and pointed in their direction while shouting at Canyon.

Storm and Lotus landed on warm desert sand, their wing beats causing it to fly about. As soon as the flurry of sand stopped Storm felt a pair of wings wrap around her followed by a relieved sigh.

"Storm, I swear if you do this to me again I am going to chain us together!" Oryx threatened while he hugged her. He seemed to be too relieved to be angry with her.

Storm snorted. "Or you could just chain me to a tree. Maybe that would prevent me from getting kidnapped as well." This earned a chuckle from Oryx but then his face became somber as if he was seriously considering it.

Storm gave him a warning glare. "I was only joking. If I wake up one day to find myself chain to a tree-"

"Well you'd be changed to a tree so there wouldn't be much you _could_ do," He pointed out with a smirk. Before Storm could respond he dashed off to greet Lotus, leaving the IceWing to regret ever having given him the idea.

"Storm! I'm so glad you're alright." Canyon's voice snagged her attention. He released a guttural sigh of relief as he left Lotus' side and bound towards her. Storm felt the familiar fluttering in her stomach as their eyes met. Canyon looked like he wanted to hug her as well but refrained.

"Of course I'm alright!" Storm assured, getting her voice back. She was still hoarse from the dryness in the air but she continued, "A little tired and covered in sand but perfectly fine." It was a little bit of an understatement as both she and Lotus were covered in new scratches. Not to mentioned that each of her scales itched from the collection of sand that had built up underneath them. _I would do anything for a pile of snow to clean up in._ Storm wished.

"What about you and Oryx, what happened last night when we didn't come back?" Storm questioned.

"Well, after I came back with meeting my source I found Oryx already waiting at the palm tree. When I didn't see you two I figured you guys might have been caught up in something and needed more time…but when you didn't show up…" His voice trailed off and Storm felt guilty for making him so worried. The SkyWing shook himself and continued. "We found a den nearby and sheltered there for the night in view of the tree. Needless to say neither of us got much sleep that night." Another guilty twinge assaulted Storm. This soon dissipated as Canyon turned a critical eye on her. "Now, WHERE IN THE BLAZES WERE YOU TWO?" He grumbled.

Lotus approached with Oryx and Storm felt relieved that she wouldn't have to face the blunt of Canyon's anger alone. She knew he was only angry because he had been so worried and scared. She was the same way.

"It's a long story," Lotus sighed before giving a wry smile. "But we certainly have a LOT to tell you, that's for sure."

Steadily the sun rose higher as Lotus and Storm took turns describing the events, beginning with the simple journey to the herbal shop followed by their infiltration of the meeting and what they had learned. The looks on Oryx and Canyon's faces as they told their story almost made the whole fiasco worth it.

"WHAT!? I can't believe I missed out on being a SPY. That would have been SO COOL!" Oryx bellowed in despair, completely ignoring the part where Storm and Lotus explained that they had almost been caught and _killed_.

Alternatively, Canyon looked grim as he grasped his talons together and rested his chin on them in thought. "So the Order wants the same thing we're after, but now they have a whole bunch of new animus objects to help them get it," He hissed.

"But why though?" Oryx asked. "They already know how to get to the Ice Kingdom, why do they need this map as well?"

"Uh, I actually have a theory," Storm meekly announced. "But…it might take some explaining…" She had been relieved that Fang, Ember and Lotus hadn't rejected her idea outright. She had been nervous sharing her theory with the others last night considering the whole thing relied on some obscure IceWing legend.

"No matter, let's hear it anyway," Canyon ordered, giving her an encouraging smile. With a sudden, unwavering desire to impress the SkyWing, Storm puffed out her chest and began her monologue. With all eyes on her she quickly went presented her evidence to the group. It was hard to keep her voice strong as her throat dried up, and she kept licking her lips to try and get _some_ moisture on them. It didn't help that a grim expression was slowly growing on Canyon's face as she spoke. She was therefore thankful when Lotus stepped forward.

"So essentially they're after some sort of ancient IceWing hoard of animus objects," The MudWing, having heard all this before, helped summarize Storm's story.

Storm looked to Canyon to gauge his reaction, but what she saw did not comfort her. His tail was swaying aggressively and the subtle movements of his jaw indicated he was grinding his teeth.

"So they're after _more_ animus objects. Great," He hissed out the last word in obvious displeasure. Abruptly he stood up and began to pace, his heavy steps leaving dents in the sand. "They already have plenty of those foul, cursed objects. What is it about animus objects that make everyone so power crazy?"

Storm tilted her head, choosing her words carefully. "I think it has more to do with the dragons themselves, not the animus objects."

"Ha! If you think that then you certainly don't know you animus history!" The SkyWing challenged back and as much as Storm wanted to prove him wrong she knew it was useless.

This wasn't the first time he had gone into a fit about animus touched objects, but what could make him hate them so much? Was this how all SkyWings thought? Storm understood that animus dragons were considered evil in their culture, but Canyon's reactions seemed…deeper. Her concerned eyes met Canyon's and his anger faded. He shook his head, as if clearing away an unwanted thought, and cleared his throat.

"So I suppose our next step is to obtain the map before the Order finds it," Canyon explained, moving the attention back to the conversation. "My source told me that looking at the hoodoos is a good place to start, but since the Order already knows this fact we will have to be extra careful not to run into them," The SkyWing suggested as he shook of the sand on his feet. A useless action since the sand would only return in several moments. He then turned to the sky, shading his eyes with his wing. "The sun is not yet at its strongest. We should leave now if we want to get there before the hottest part of the day." As he spoke he was looking at Storm.

Storm realized he was likely worried that, because she was an IceWing, she wouldn't be able to handle the desert heat. _I can handle myself in the heat just fine! Well…probably._

Although, she had to admit that even this gentler morning sun was already giving her a headache and making her scales burn.

"Well…actually there is more to our story," Lotus said as she shuffled further into the shade of the tree. Oryx perked but Canyon simply raised a brow in apprehension. "So after we escaped from the tavern…we were caught."

"By the Order?" Canyon butted in, alarmed.

"Erm…not exactly. We were tackled by a couple of tomb raiders," The IceWing clarified, but this only made the males more confused.

"I'm sorry, but WHAT? Tomb raiders? What in all the mountains and oceans of Pyrrhia were you two DOING last night?" Storm couldn't ignore the sudden mature and commanding voice the SkyWing had taken on. It felt less like she was speaking to a friend and more like she was being scolded by a senior officer for falling asleep on the job.

"And you give ME a hard time about getting in trouble," Oryx added with a self-righteous nod.

Storm bristled defensively. "I'll have you know that we were able to gain their help. They're not just tomb raiders, but professional treasure hunters. They said they would help us find the map." Storm really had no reason to defend Fang and Ember, and honestly she wasn't. She was more concerned with proving to Canyon that she had done something useful. Unfortunately the SkyWing did not see it that way. Immediately he growled, fixing his furious gaze on Storm.

"You _told_ them what we're after? These random dragons kidnapped you _and_ admitted to working with the order yet you still told them everything?" Disbelief and anger laced his voice. Storm's tried to hold his gaze but her confidence was failing. Luckily her voice did not betray her.

"Canyon, we _need_ their help! We have no idea where the map could-"

"We would have figured it out!" The SkyWing interrupted. His tail was swinging violently while plumes of smoke coiled out the corners of his mouth. "But now they know we're here and they know where we are. They've probably alerted the Order by now!" Canyon took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them he looked back at Storm with disappointment. "I thought you were smarter than this."

The look itself was like a punch to the heart. His disappointment in her hurt more than she could have ever imagined, and she turned the pain into anger.

"Well what else were we supposed to do?" She snapped. "And of course we don't trust them but if they can help us get the map sooner then it will be worth it. In case you had forgotten there is a little, terrified dragonet waiting to be rescued and the sooner we can do that the better," She growled.

Canyon swivelled his head and fixed her with rage filled eyes. "Don't speak to me as if I don't know what's at stake! As if I don't care! Every choice I've made has been in the benefit of helping our tribemates by taking out the Order and I don't want to see all our hard work annihilated because we were betrayed by traitorous dragonets that _you_ trusted!" He snarled.

Storm returned his accusation with a growl, trying to push through the sting of his words. _Why is he so angry with me? I did what I thought he would have done. I suppose I thought wrong._

"Well if that's how you feel, then I'll just go with the tomb raiders by myself. In that way if I am betrayed then you three will be fine." Storm turned away to avoid Canyon's gaze but she heard him inhale sharply as if he had also taken a blow to the chest.

"No, we're not splitting up!" Lotus intervened between the two arguing dragons. "We're going together. _All_ of us," She directed sternly and gave Canyon and Storm an uncompromising glare.

"Fine. Whatever," Canyon growled. "I'm going to the market to get us some more water. I'll be back later," He firmly stated and marched off in the direction of the still fairly empty streets of the marketplace.

As soon as he was out of sight the combative anger drained from Storm and she was left with a stone of guilt and regret that sat in her chest. "Seal guts," She groaned and buried her face in her talons. She felt Oryx settle in next to her on the right.

"Well that went well," he dryly noted.

Lotus approached her left side, wrapping her tail around the younger dragon.

"I was worried he would do this." The MudWing sighed and stared off in the direction that the SkyWing had left. "He's always been a control freak. It irks him when he doesn't get to make all the decisions, but I think the recent stress is getting to him. Don't take it too personally."

 _How am I supposed to not take the personally?_

Storm remained silent but nodded, indicating that she had heard Lotus' advice. Oryx gave her a gentle nudged and she turned to meet his warm smile.

"Would you like to hear about what I did at the marketplace yesterday?" Oryx offered, trying to lighten the mood by changing the subject.

"Yes, that would be great." Storm responded honestly and gave the young dragon a tired smile.

And so he regaled them with his tale of how he had to go to five different booths to find the best roasted lizard in the market.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **My apologies for not updating this more frequently 3': I won't make excuses but I will try to improve managing my time between two stories. Anyway, thanks for reading :3**


	12. Heartache and Hoodoos

It was noon by the time Canyon returned. The three dragons were huddled desperately under the little shade offered by the palm tree. He silently approached and handed each of them a full leather pouch full of water that he had acquired at the market. When he went to give Storm her pouch he refused to look at her face but pulled out a few roasted lizards from his bag. "Here. We won't have time to stop and hunt and I figured you must be hungry." He passed the lizard to Storm and before she could thank him he had walked away.

Storm sighed and locked eyes with Lotus who shrugged sympathetically. Storm quickly gulped down the lizards in two bites each. _Why won't he even talk to me? He's being so stubborn! Just let me apologize to you, you fool!_

Canyon suddenly cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention. "So it's high noon now," He addressed the group. "It'll be hot, but if you are all up to the task we can leave now anyway." His eyes lingered on Storm, a worried crease in his brow. At that moment Storm realized she must have looked pretty ragged. She quickly straightened her back, puffing out her chest and ignoring the sweat trickling down her spine.

"I'm ready to go," She announced as confidently as she could. "How about you two?"

Lotus and Oryx looked to each other and shrugged, nodding. "Yeah, we're set," Oryx answered.

"Good. It will be around a thirty minute flight. We'll take a few breaks along the way," Canyon stated and took to the sky. "Alright, let's go."

The other dragons followed his lead and the palm tree shook in farewell as they lifted higher and higher in the sky. As soon as she was out of the shade the sun's heat hit her like a wave that almost knocked her out of the air, but she held her position in the back, thankful that none of the other's had seen her. It was also extremely bright out and Storm wondered if Canyon and Lotus would be alright without the blackened corneas that Ice and SandWings' had. They flew in silence for a while, over the large dunes that rose and fell like waves. _They kind of look like snow banks…_ Storm realized and got a sudden surge of home sickness.

Or maybe it was heat sickness. At this point it was hard to tell.

Storm was beginning to become lulled by the never ending ocean of gold when a large and brown figure soared to her left. It startled her and she veered sharply right as a reflex.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Lotus apologized with a sheepish grin as Storm corrected her flight pattern.

"It's fine. I was just distracted," Storm admitted and tried to clear the heat induced fog in her head.

"I just wanted to check in on you, make sure everything is fine." She smiled and Storm returned her own small smile.

"Uh, yes, everything is fine…expected for the heat but that's not going to change anytime soon."

Lotus nodded but seemed distracted by something. "Storm…I actually wanted to ask you something about the Sivanka treasure." She spoke in somewhat of a hushed voice and Storm wondered if she didn't want Canyon to know what she was asking. Luckily they were in the back of the flight formation so it was unlikely that Canyon or Oryx would hear anything, but Storm still took precautions.

"You mean the lost city of Sivanka? I will try to answer your questions as best as I can." She whispered back.

"Well, in this treasure, or city, or whatever, is there anything that could be used to resurrect the dead?"

Storm peered at Lotus from the corner of her eye with suspicion. _What a strange thing to ask…_

Nonetheless she had promised to answer the question. "Let me think for a moment and try to remember." She responded. She wouldn't tell Lotus this fact, but as a young dragonet Storm had been something of a scroll-worm. She loved reading about the legends that her father would recount before bed time. Of course, her favourite story had been about the clever knight who, with the help of a talking narwhal and her own pure heart, had been able to stop the treacherous plan of her sister and got to marry the prince in the end. However, she did recall one scroll that had been dedicated to the legend of Sivanka. She recalled the list of legendary animus objects that were thought to have been hidden away within the city.

"Well, yes, there is something that could be used. I believe it is an enchanted sword but I am not entirely sure how it's supposed to work." Storm responded and Lotus nodded solemnly.

"Hmm, so, it's not that I doubt your memory but…are you _sure_ it's a dagger?"

Storm's ears flicked in annoyance. "Yes. Why? What's wrong with daggers?"

Lotus tilted her head, the sun reflecting off her scales in cascades of brown and gold. "It's just…daggers usually kill you. How would it bring you back to life?"

"I don't know!" Storm snapped, heat-weary. "That's just what it says in the scrolls! I'm not a flying encyclopedia!"

"Alright, sorry." The MudWing remained silent after that, a thoughtful expression dominated her face. It flickered between worry and fear.

Storm quickly felt guilty about her outburst and wanted to make sure Lotus was ok.

"Lotus, is everything alright?" Storm softly asked. "Why did you want to know about the sword?"

"Let's take a break here!" Canyon quickly turned his head and shouted to the dragons following him.

"I'll tell you later," Lotus promised and veered off to the left.

Canyon was banking to his right towards a large cliff those stood proudly against the desert sky and offered ample shade at its base. While speaking with Lotus Storm had failed to notice that the terrain had changed from sandy waves into rough, gravely dirt with tufts of brittle grasses and shrubs dotting the ground. As soon as they landed in the shadows the group of dragons immediately slumped on the ground as they rested their weary bodies, the heat having sapped all energy. Well, everyone except Oryx who was immensely enjoying himself.

"I wonder what the hoodoos will be like, do think it'll be fun? Are the dragons we are meeting there nice? I hope I can be friends with them. OH, what if we even found the map today! That would be awesome."

"Oryx, please hush," Storm groaned as she rubbed her temples. The heat had made her headache worse and she sipped some water from her leather pouch in hopes of easing it. Luckily Lotus was in better shape and was able to handle Oryx's non-stop stream of consciousness. As they chatted Storm watched Canyon from the corner of her eye get up and sit at the edge of the shade. He sat motionless, staring with a blank expression into the vastness that was the desert.

 _What's he doing sitting over there? Is he still all huffy about our argument? What a puffin face! This behaviour is immature and foolish!_

"Are you gonna go talk to him?" Oryx's voice popped up. He looked at Canyon with concern, and then back to Storm while wearing the same creased brow. It was an expression he rarely wore and it made him look years older. Storm released a sigh.

"I suppose I should…" She admitted.

As much as she would have loved to let him sit there and wallow in whatever self-righteous pool he had made for himself, she also hated the tension between them. It also pained her heart that they weren't speaking and she couldn't bear the thought that he was upset with her.

The ice dragon's jaw set and she prepared herself to confront him. "I'll be right back," she told the small SandWing and on silent talons she walked over and sat next to the red-scaled dragon. Despite her annoyance with him she still felt her stomach began to flutter at being so close.

They sat in silence for a few moments while Storm tried to think of the best way to apologize. The breezeless wasteland before them radiated heat as the sand-dunes rose and fell like the swelling of the ocean.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," Canyon suddenly spoke before Storm could organize her thoughts. She gazed at him with an open mouth as he continued. "It was hypocritical of me to get angry with you for making that deal when I did the same thing with the Pirate Queen."

The heavy feeling that had been sitting in her heart since this morning melted away. She licked her lips nervously. "To be honest, I was only trying to do what I though you would do. I knew you'd have come up with some clever plan to gain their help…or at least that's what I think you would have done," Storm admitted and was rewarded with a gentle smile from Canyon.

"Then I guess you know me pretty well. Or maybe you're just cleverer than you thought."

She shrugged bashfully. "Well, maybe. But Canyon, I also wanted to apologize. I didn't mean to imply that you didn't care. I know you do. That's one of the things I admire about you. How loyal and dedicated you are to saving your tribemates and to helping others. You truly are a great leader," She confessed.

Canyon smiled with gratitude and his warm gaze held Storm's until a blush rose on her scales and she hastily turned away. Maybe it was the heat but was he blushing as well?

"Are you guys friend again now?" Oryx spontaneously appeared and eagerly shifted his gaze between Canyon and Storm.

Storm cleared her throat, trying to mask her blue face. "Well, we were always friends but we're no longer in a silly dispute if that's what you're wondering," Storm answered plainly.

The SandWing gave a massive sigh of relief and clutched his talon to his chest. "Oh good! That was making me SO anxious. So now that we're a big, happy family again we should head on out and get to those hobos."

"You mean 'hoodoos'?" Canyon corrected.

"Yeah yeah, those." He waved his talon in dismissal and Storm couldn't help but smile at the young male's goofy antics.

"I'll go tell Lotus we're ready to go!" He chirped and zipped away towards the MudWing who was resting against the cliff with her eyes closed. Storm was still smiling when she noticed Canyon staring. When she turned to look at him he confidently held her gaze.

"You have a beautiful smile," He complimented before strutting away with a grin on his own face.

Storm felt her head spin and she tried to convince herself it was from the heat.

* * *

"Are we nearly there yet?" Storm half demanded half pleaded. It felt like they had been flying for hours but that was probably the heat just messing with her head.

"Yes, nearly there!" Canyon encouraged from his position at the head of their flight formation. Even when bogged down by heat the SkyWing's large wingspan kept him well ahead of the others. Storm let out a hopeless groan.

However Canyon had not been lying, and soon enough Storm saw something appear on the horizon. At a glance she assumed that they were heading towards an ancient ruin of some sort in which the only things that had been left standing were large, rectangular pillars that had once held up mighty buildings. But…something was off. The way they were arranged seemed random at best; there was no order or organization at all. Sometimes the columns were arranged in a line but most often in random clusters of 10-20 together or in even small bundles of 3-6. They continued for as long as the eye could see like a forest of red spires, stretching up towards the sky. A dragon would easily be able to soar in and around them without their wings so much as scraping against the sides.

Storm blinked and looked again to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "What _are_ those things?"

"The hoodoos," Lotus answered. "They're a naturally forming rock formation caused by erosion."

Storm nodded, pretending to understand. She had never come across these things in her readings, and the Ice Kingdom certainly wasn't known for its rock formations. Although, she had to admit they did bear a resemblance to the ice spires the crowned Queen Glacier's palace.

"So the map is somewhere in _there_?" Oryx flew in next to Storm. His eyes were focused far off on the scene before then, his eyes unreadable.

"It's our best bet," the IceWing gave him an honest answer.

As they flew closer to the valley Storm could finally discern the finer details. The shapes were definitely not pillars designed by dragons but rather were blocks dirt and stone that were piled one on top of the other and often were rounded at the top as the upper layers crumbled. This land had likely once been flat but over thousands of years it had been eroding and breaking apart so that each of the once deeply buried layers of stone were exposed for all to see. What was left was a forest of giant dragon-dwarfing columns of orange sandstone that did truly look like rectangular tree trunk that had no leaves or roots. Near the outer regions of the valley the columns stood close together and fused to form straight walls but near the center they were more crumpled and often gathered in clusters.

"Wow," Storm breathed. She had read of the desert before in her scrolls but she had never come across the mention of these structures. It spread on for what seemed like forever and Storm furrowed the line of scales above her eyes. _It would take forever to search this place over. No wonder the Order hired Fang and Ember._

They had just entered into the valley when Canyon flipped around midflight to face the other three dragons. "Let's fine somewhere to land," He ordered and immediately corrected himself and descended towards a row of hoodoo pillars that lined themselves up in a respectable wall. It was still early afternoon but the large structures created amble shade.

Storm landed on the gravely terrain and, although her scales felt like they were melting, she quickly approached the wall of dirt and inspected it. She ran her talons over the surface and a thin layer of sand crumbled and fell behind the path of her claws.

"This is…a lot larger than I thought it would be," Canyon admitted sitting next to her and running the palm of his forefeet along the stone.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's just say I hope your 'friends' make good of their promise. Otherwise I don't know if we'll find the map in time…or at all."

"ORYX YOU GET DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Storm and Canyon jumped as they heard Lotus bellow with the fury of a thousand suns.

Storm looked around frantically for where Oryx was. The rain of sand that hit her face from above gave her the answer.

Oryx was climbing around on the unstable tips of the hoodoos and having a blast. Every-time he set down a talon a waterfall of sand followed. "Oh wow, this is great," He called down. "Storm you have to try this, you can see so much from here."

"You can also do that while flying!" Lotus shouted. She was fluttering her wings and Storm figured she was moments away from going up there and dragging the dragonet off herself.

"Oryx, you should listen to Lotus!" Storm advised as the SandWing jumped onto another tip and nearly collapsed the whole column.

"Alright! Jeez you guys are so bossy." He peered around beneath him for a spot to land before he let go of the hoodoo and glided down towards them. "Ta-da!" He greeted, flaring his wings open majestically as he skidded to a halt.

Just as he landed the column he had descended from began to rumble as the top half slid off and landed next to them, disintegrating into a pile of sand as it hit the ground. Once the cloud of dirt had cleared the dragons shook the sand from their wings and Oryx ducked his head sheepishly. "Ah, well at least now we know what we _shouldn't_ do," He offered to Lotus who was looking at him with grave eyes and pursed lips.

"Ok new rule. No one jumps around on the hoodoos," Canyon grumbled while scraping away the sand from his eyes.

"So where can we find these friends of yours?" Oryx asked Storm hastily, maybe in an attempt to change the topic.

"Yes, where are these experts anyway?" Canyon agreed, although he sneered as he said 'experts'. Storm couldn't fault him though. He trusted her judgement well enough but she wouldn't force him to trust Fang and Ember. They would have to earn that.

"They told us to meet them at the hoodoo that was shaped like a dragon." Storm recounted the instructions while shaking the sand out of the crevices between the extra scales on the back of her head. Some of the hoodoos had been chipped away like a sculpture and, with no small amount of imagination and squinting, sometimes took the appearance of an image. In fact, right in front of them a lone standing hoodoo had been withered to look something like a scavenger.

Canyon snorted. "Wonderful. I suppose we'll just go searching then, and when they don't show up then at least we'll have explored a little."

Storm wrinkled her nose at Canyon's pessimistic mood. "You could at least _pretend_ to be optimistic," She quipped. The SkyWing gave a helpless shrug which made Storm want to swat at him.

"YES! Let's go explore!" Oryx chirped

"Let's not get all crazy now," Storm directed to Oryx. "We need to make sure we keep organized about this. We want to make sure we look at everything we can and make notes of where we've already been so we don't waste time."

"Yes, good idea," Canyon agreed. "We can mark the hoodoos with symbols as we go along."

"And what are we looking for exactly?" Lotus looked around the group. "Where would we find a scroll in all of this?" She motioned around to the terrain. Canyon hummed in thought.

"Definitely keep an eye out for any nooks or crannies that could hide something small. Although, it's probably unlikely that it will just be sticking in some random rock, waiting to be found," Canyon noted, his tail swishing as his eyes clouded with worry. Storm padded over to sit next to him.

"It's still worth a try to look," She encouraged. This earned a smile from Canyon. Storm turned away before she started blushing. "Um, we should get going then."

Canyon, still smiling, stepped away from her and spread his wings in preparation to take off. "You're right. We're wasting day-light. Let's be off."

* * *

The good news was that they had each spotted a dragon shaped hoodoo. The bad news was that it was a different hoodoo for each dragon.

"Honestly, are you all blind? We already past the meeting place," Storm argued for the tenth time. She was sitting on the tip of a much sturdier line of hoodoos while Canyon flew in circles above her. Lotus and Oryx were on the ground investigating some crevices they had spotted from the air. The sun was now setting and the once orange hoodoos were now turning a deep red. The ground below was plunged into darkness with only the rare sunbeam filtering in from where parts of the hoodoo wall had crumbled away, leaving archways and holes in the stone.

"No, that wasn't the place. It didn't even look like a dragon, it was just a lump of stone," Canyon objected from the air.

"That's because you weren't looking at it from the correct angle!" Storm retaliated.

They had been exploring the terrain for most of the day but still hardly knew what they were doing or even if they were looking in the right places. They were all covered in red dust from crawling around on the sandstone columns. Storm tried to shake off the grime but, just as the many times before, it didn't help.

A gust of air from the left warned her of Canyon landing. He teetered on the tip until he found his footing but kept his wings slightly open for additional balance.

"I suppose we should make shelter for the night. We'll get up early tomorrow and start searching for the map," He sighed. Perhaps it was the lightly, but Storm finally noticed how tired the SkyWing looked. He had bags under his bloodshot eyes and his forehead seemed to be constantly furrowed in worry.

"You still don't think their coming, do you?" Storm quietly inquired.

He shrugged and exhaled through his nose. "It's not your fault. I still think it was smart to make a deal, but they were just honor-less worms that didn't hold up their end of the bargain. Still, no harm done. We had to come to the hoodoos anyway."

"Canyon, we need their help. We'll never find it on our own, just look at this place," She swept her wing across the landscape to indicate how endless and vast it was. "You said it yourself, this place is huge. We practically need to the map just to find it!"

Canyon's jaw clenched and his fiery eyes fixated on Storm. "We'll manage." That was his final decision on the matter. He let his front feet slide down on the side of the hoodoo before leaping off and landing on a large boulder and with a final jump he landed on the ground next to Lotus and Oryx.

Storm shook her head in exasperation and returned her gaze to the setting sun. _Sometimes his determination is just plain stubbornness._

By the time had set they had found a place to settle for the night.

They lit a fire under an archway that had naturally occurred in a wall of hoodoos. Under the cloudless night sky they snacked on small lizards and beetles that had once called these stony pillars their home. Storm mostly kept to the lizards, even though she was sick of them at this point. She licked her dry lips longingly as she thought of the remaining water she still had in her pouch but she held herself in restraint. The closest known water source was apparently in the Scorpian Den, a place she was told to avoid by Canyon. They would go there if they had to but the longer they could delay it the better.

They didn't talk much, they were all exhausted from a long day in the sun and by the time the fire had dwindled down to a few glowing sticks most of them had already fallen asleep. She heard Oryx's steady breathing as he lay next to her, the slow expanding and compressing of his sides rubbing against her, and Lotus' snoring emanated from the other side of the fire pit. Storm felt her own eyes sag with exhaustion. She curled up into a ball, her tail tip resting on her snout, and tried to relax enough to fall asleep.

Just as her consciousness began to slip away the sudden shuffling of sand jerked her back to her senses and she looked up in time to see Canyon's tail disappear behind the archway. _Now what is he up to?_ She wondered. With every muscle in her body cursing her, she slowly rose to her feet, trying her best to not disturb Oryx, and quickly padded after the SkyWing.

She found him sitting upon an elevated platform that had a relatively flat top. It has most likely once been a stack of hoodoos itself, but time had worn down the distinct columns into on large stone chunk leaving what look more like a giant tree stump than an ancient collection of stone. The SkyWing was silhouetted against the backdrop of the night sky, his body acting like a red stone against the swirling current of stars that flowed in the black waters of the heavens.

Storm was familiar with the constellations in the North, but these were new stars. They contained stories that she could only hope of ever learning. However, Canyon was not looking at the stars. He was looking at his talons, or rather, something he was holding in his talons. With several powerful jumps Storm landed softly on the platform next to Canyon. He jolted as she landed and quickly hid what he had been holding.

"Storm, I thought you were asleep," He coughed awkwardly.

"I saw you leaving. I should think you would be as exhausted as the rest of us," She probed.

Canyon looked away. "Ah, well…I have trouble sleeping," He admitted and Storm cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Nightmares. About the war," He clarified reluctantly.

Acting on a sudden urge to be closer to him Storm shuffled nearer so that their wings were almost touching. She was familiar with the effects of war on the mind. Her father had suffered from nightmares as well. But no one spoke of it in the Ice Kingdom. It was considered a weakness to be tormented by war.

"My father used to have nightmares as well. He would wake up crying and I would sleep next to him until he felt better." She choked back a lump in her throat. She missed her father so much, and her sister. She didn't remember her mother very well, but there was still an ache in her heart where a mother's love should have been.

Canyon's warm wings brushed against hers as this time he was the one to shuffle closer. A jolt like lightning coursed through her body that stiffened every muscle and made her heart pound as if expecting battle.

They sat in silence for a while. That was another thing Storm appreciated about Canyon. As much as she adored Oryx, the young SandWing would never be able to sit quietly for more than one minute, and as much as she respected Lotus, the gentle MudWing always felt the need to fill in awkward silences with conversation. But Canyon never felt the need to speak just to keep away the silence. Just being in the moment was enough.

The crackling of paper brought Storm's attention back to Canyon as he pulled out a small scrap of parchment the size of his palm that looked as if it had been torn away from a larger piece. On it was a portrait of a SkyWing dragonet about three years of age, her energetic orange scales had been painted in with gentle water colours and she sat smiling at whoever had done the portrait. Canyon hesitated and then handed it to Storm who took it gently in her talons, trying to prevent her serrated claws from ripping the delicate object.

"My sister," He explained with a sad smile. "I drew it myself."

Storm turned to him in awe. "This is amazing, I didn't know you were so talented," She said in earnest. Canyon shrugged bashfully.

"I haven't drawn anything for a while. That portrait was the last thing I did. I was just a sketch but I cleaned it up and painted it in later." He closed his eyes and let out a gut wrenching sigh. "It was my fault that she died."

Storm balked at the sudden confession. So _this_ was the source of all that guilt Canyon had been lugging around. All those times he had shied away from talking about his sister, the shame in his eyes when he mentioned her. Lotus had been the one to tell her of Canyon's sister's death, but now was she finally going to hear it from him?

"How was it your fault?" She asked, leaning closer.

The SkyWing swallowed hard and for a moment Storm wondered if he would continue. But after a deep breath he finally spoke. "My sister was not a soldier. She was small, timid and fragile. But that didn't stop her from being drafted."

Storm took a bracing breath. She had a good idea as to where this tragic story was heading.

"My mother was part of Queen Scarlet's court at the time and begged her to send my sister to where I was serving as Lieutenant at a remote observational outpost in the mountains. Everything would be perfect: we hardly had any battle action and her big brother would be there to protect her. My mother and step-father's favourite little girl should have been perfectly safe."

His eyes were glistening by now, small beads of water pooling along the brim. "But we were found out and attacked. It was only a small platoon that attacked but they caused enough deaths and damage fit for an army. The whole time I was looking everywhere for her, I kept yelling for her but the battle was so loud and chaotic. I eventually found her tiny, broken body in the morning on the side of the mountain not far from our camp. She was already dead."

His voice was shaking and tears flowed freely from his eyes. In that instant all Storm's other issues melted away and the only thing she cared about was the crying dragon in front of her and what she could do to stop his pain. It broke her heart to watch him suffer like this.

"Canyon, you can't blame yourself. You can't control what happens in war," Storm tried to console him. Lotus was way better at this than she was but that didn't mean she wouldn't try. Canyon hung his head low and refused to look up, preferring to watch as his own tears hit the stone below only to be eagerly devoured by the dry sand.

Hesitantly, Storm touched his face with her wing tip and used it to guide his gaze back to her. "Canyon," She whispered and, for the first time ever, tried to let her heart do the speaking. "War doesn't discriminate between the innocent and the guilty, and neither does death. We can't control what is lost, but we must not become obsessed with it. Your sister shouldn't have even been out on the battle field, she was too young, but it's not your fault that she was put there."

She handed the portrait back to Canyon and he gathered it in his talons like a gem. "Your sister is at peace, now it's time for you to find peace as well," Storm hoped she didn't sound too corny. She had meant what she said but she had never been the most eloquent of speakers. Storm felt somewhat relieved to see that Canyon had stopped crying, although he still looked sad. At that point Storm noticed that several tears had slipped out of her own eyes without her being aware. She hastily wiped them away.

When she looked back at Canyon she was surprised to see him smirking. "You know, we're really good at giving each other advice but horrible at following it," He smiled. "I'm pretty sure I've nagged you plenty of times about moving on from the death of your family, and here I am carrying around a portrait of my dead relatives just like you."

"Hey that's right!" Storm realized with annoyance. "How dare you give me a hard time when-"

Whatever sharp comment she planned to make became caught in her throat as Canyon wrapped a giant wing around her and pulled her close. Her right cheek squished up against his jaw and she held her breath as her brain had a melt down and forgot what it was supposed to do. When she finally got her sense back she released a light hearted laugh. "You're still a stubborn fool," She said, half teasing.

She felt Canyon gently shake as he chuckled. "And you're still a reckless accident waiting to happen," He responded. Storm smiled blissfully before letting out a massive yawn.

"I think we've been awake long enough," Canyon yawned as well. "We should probably get some sleep."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Storm checked. Canyon briefly pressed their foreheads together and stars danced across her vision.

"I am. Thanks to you."

The two dragons laid down on the gravely dirt, they didn't cuddle, but they still remained close enough for their wings and tail tips to touch.

"What was your sister's name?" Storm asked as she let her weary muscles relax.

"Sparrow," Canyon responded before quietly falling asleep.


	13. Assembling the Team

Storm was gently awoken by a desert mouse scurrying over her talons. She flicked it off before stretching her back in an arch, grimacing as she felt the sand shift between her scales. Canyon was gently snoozing beside her and she could tell it was morning as the rising desert heat had begun to waft around her in waves. Luckily the platform they were on was still low enough to be coated in the shadows of the surrounding hoodoos, and therefore protected from the sun.

Storm tried to fall back asleep before Canyon woke and made them all get up. The sound of a snapping branch made her ears twitch and pulled her out of the doze. It had come from behind. Thinking it was probably just the mouse scampering about she didn't react. The closer sound of pebbled falling off the side of the platform made her pry her eyes open and peer around. _Something's not right here._

Her eyes snapped open and she rolled to her side just as dragon leapt onto the space she had just been laying. Storm immediately rolled onto her feet and with sleep-blurred eyes pounced on her attacker. They tumbled over Canyon, who shot up with a confused roar, and landed on the hard sand behind him with Storm pinning the intruder down. She blinked her eyes a few times to clear away the sleep and was greeted by the wolfish grin of Fang looking up at her.

"FANG, YOU ROTTEN WHALE CARCAS!" She roared, batting him on the snout and getting off of him. "What's your problem?" She accused.

"Come on, Ice cube. It was just a little fun," He groaned while standing and shook the dirt from off his wings. "But I must say I'm impressed. I for sure thought you were asleep."

In an instant Canyon was beside her, snarling at Fang.

"Cool it, big guy. I'm a friend of Storms." He grinned hopefully in the direction of Storm.

Storm snorted. "More like an acquaintance, but yes, I know him."

Canyon somewhat relaxed and Fang gasped in mock offence and held his talons over his heart. "Your refusal of our love breaks my heart."

"Where have YOU been?" Someone else shouted from the air. The angry wing-flaps of Ember stirred the dirt around them as she landed.

"We said to meet us by the dragon shaped hoodoo!" She scolded. "We wasted the whole day looking for you!"

"Sorry we…couldn't find it," Storm admitted. Ember huffed and rolled her eyes as if deciding that it would just be a waste of breath to insult such idiots. Now that the excitement was over Storm noticed that the two had quite a bit of equipment on them. They had bags and satchels hung all over them as well as long lengths of rope wound around their chests. They had chisels, hammers, first aid kits, magnify glasses, some sort of head gear with a torch attached to it, and many other tools of the trade that Storm didn't recognize. With so much hanging off of them Storm was surprised Fang had been able to get as close as he had without her noticing.

"So these are the tomb raiders," Canyon grumbled, eyeing the newly arrived dragons like they were the leftovers of a disappointing meal.

"We prefer the term 'treasure hunters', thanks," Fang grinned and winked at Storm.

A _whoosh_ of air signaled Lotus' arrival as she landed gracefully in the middle of the commotion. "Ember! Fang! It's so good to see you again." She smiled and two dragons nodded in greeting.

"ARE THEY HERE?" An excited voice bellowed from below as Oryx scrambled up to join them. He beamed and greeted Fang by grabbing his talons and furiously shaking them.

"Oh wow, this is just so great. My name is Oryx and did you guys say you were _treasure hunters_? That's so amazing and I like your jewelry it's so nice!" He jabbered with the widest grin Storm had ever seen.

"Finally! Someone who appreciates my fine tastes," Fang grinned back and nudged Oryx playfully with his wings. Storm gulped as a wave of dread hit her. She had a sinking feeling that those two were going to get along swimmingly.

Oryx turned to Ember, talon extended in greeting. Storm held her breath, ready to jump in should Ember insult of berate the small SandWing. Instead the female's face lit up in a warm smile and she gently took Oryx's talons in her own.

"Nice to meet you, my name's Ember."

"U-uh, I'm Oryx." The SandWing's eyes glistened, lingering on the smiling face before him as if he has just found a light in endless darkness.

As relieved as Storm was at Ember's friendliness towards Oryx, she couldn't help but feel spiteful. _Why is she so nice to Oryx but has nothing but contempt for me? Is it because I'm an IceWing?_ As she dwelled on it Storm realized it was a legitimate explanation. SkyWings had fought the IceWings in the war. Perhaps Ember did have her reasons to hate Storm, as unjustified as they were.

Turning away from the two younger dragons Storm watched as Fang approached Canyon, a devious smile painted across his golden muzzle. "Wow, you got a lot of scars on ya. I don't think I caught your name yet."

"It's Canyon."

"Hmm…I think I'll call you 'Red' since, you know, you're pretty red lookin'," Fang decided after some thought.

"No. You'll call me Canyon."

The SandWing huffed, leaning towards Storm. "Sheesh, is he always this fun?"

"Do you mind? I'm standing right in front of you!" Canyon hissed.

"Enough of this foolishness," Storm interrupted, pushing the two males apart. She turned to the newly arrived dragon. "Fang, Ember, can we please start looking for the map now?" She implored.

"Of course, Ice cube! We promised we would, right?" He sat next to her and began searching through the plethora of sacks, bags and satchels strapped to his body. Like antsy spiders his talons darted from bag to bag, wiggled around inside and went to another. He let out a triumphant cry when he found what he was looking for. From a bag under his wing he removed a carved gemstone the size of his palm. The colour was as red as blood and it was shaped to resemble a dragon biting its own tail, making a perfect circle.

"Uh, that's…pretty," Oryx commented, tilting his head to inspect the token. "Did you buy it at the market?"

Fang turned the carving over in his palm several times. "Yeah, I bought the carving at the market, but that's not what makes it special." He flattened his palm once again to show it off. "It's been enchanted by an animus."

Oryx and Storm leaned in closer, gasping slightly. Storm had never been this close to a magical item, but now that she stood in attention she could feel the waves of energy pulsing through and out of the object. But it was a weak sensation. The enchantment must be fairly small.

"What does it do?" Oryx asked.

"Yes, what does this unholy thing do?" Canyon's snarky comment followed. Storm looked up to see he was keeping his distance but at the same time craning his neck to view the object from afar. Something akin to morbid curiosity shone in his eyes.

"It's the most important tool of our trade," Fang explained. "It's enchanted to glow stronger the closer you get to another animus touched object. Once you're right next to your treasure it begins to vibrate and _BAM_ , treasuring hunting accomplished!"

Oryx wrinkled his snout. "No offense but that's kinda lame."

"I agree," Lotus chimed in. "What animus would make such an enchantment? Why not just make something to tell you directly where to go?"

Fang held the carving close to his chest defensively. "Well _exuuuuuuuse_ me! Animus enchantments don't come cheap, you know! Even the one on this thing put a major dent in my treasure hoard."

Storm craned her neck to look at Fang in surprise. "You mean you _paid_ an animus to enchant that token for you?"

Fang gave a sharp nod of affirmation. "Yes, and if I had wanted anything more specific it was gonna cost me extra, so this is the best we got."

"As long as it helps us to find the map then that's all that matters," Storm decided before anyone else could voice their doubts. She just wanted to get this map found before they were kidnapped or attacked again.

"Agreed," Canyon commented. Despite her bluff of confidence Storm was relieved to see Canyon coming around. The last thing she needed was to hear his doubts as well. With the barest of hesitation Canyon strutted forward to stand before Fang, eyeing the enchanted object distastefully. An air of command clung to the SkyWing's scales as he took charge of the situation; his broad chest and lithe muscles rippling in the early morning sun.

Storm willed herself to stop staring.

"How do you make it work? How close does it have to be to the map before it starts glowing?" Canyon demanded.

Fang shrugged, teetering his talon back and forth. "It depends, but usually we just fly around until it starts glowing and then narrow it down as we go."

Canyon seemed less than impressed at the methodology. "I suppose that will have to do," He acquiesced, disappointment dragging on his shoulders. He took a step back, motioning to the sky with his wing. "Well, lead the way then. We should get a move before the sun peaks."

"He's right," Ember spoke for the first time in a while. She seemed to be squirming slightly as all eyes turned on her. The discomfort only lasted a few moments before she threw a scowl at Storm. "It gets real scorching hot during the day. We wouldn't want the IceWing fainting on us or anything."

"I won't faint!" Storm insisted, although her already heat heavy head begged to differ. The last thing she needed was to humiliate herself in front of Ember and Fang. Whatever it took, she would not show weakness.

A gentle brush against her wing alerted her to Canyon's presence. He stepped in beside her, his authoritative aura like a halo around his form. "You underestimate Storm," he spoke to Ember with complete confidence in his words. "She is stronger than you give her credit for."

Storm pursed her lips, trying to hide the small smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. In his own subtle way, Canyon was standing up for her. One part of her mind had the nerve to be a bit offended. IceWing's didn't need their battles fought by someone else.

However, there was a larger part that was relieved. _I suppose it is nice to have someone looking out for you…I'd almost forgotten what that feels like._

"Oh don't worry, we know Storm's tough," Fang sent a wink her way. "It'll take more than the sun to bring her down. Speaking of which, we should get going. Here Ember, you can lead us there." With a lazy throw he tossed the carving to Ember. She scrambled to catch it, pulling it close to her chest once it landed in her talons.

"Fang! What did I say about throwing- oh forget it." She shook her head and tightened some of the straps along her body. "Let's just go."

As they prepared to take off Storm couldn't help but notice Fang sticking close to her. She gave him a quizzical look. "Uh, don't you want to go up front with Ember?"

He adjusted a bag around his wing before looking to Storm. "Nah, I'm gonna hang back with you. I still have a lot of questions that need answers, Ice Cube."

Oh right. She had agreed to answer any and all his queries.

 _This is going to be a long day._ She mentally groaned. The look on her face must have betrayed her feelings since she felt a nudge in her side.

"Perk up!" Fang smiled. "You get to spend the whole day talking with me. Isn't it great?"

"Isn't _what_ great?" Canyon rejoined their conversation.

"Just that Storm and I are going to spend the day together and she'll totally fall in love with me."

"WHAT!" Storm and Canyon bellowed together. They then turned to each other, blushing slightly before looking away.

Fang laughed deviously. "You two are hilarious."

Thundering wing-beats from above made the trio look up. Ember, Lotus and Oryx were already in the air waiting for them.

"We'll have to finish this conversation another time." Fang spread his wings to join the air-borne dragons. With haste Canyon and Storm took off as well, refusing to look at each other, and the group began their search.

* * *

They flew this way and that, following Ember as she weaved around the hoodoos. Sometimes she would fly in one direction for several minutes before backtracking and taking them around again. Although, it was hard to tell which direction they were going in sometimes. The hoodoos were beginning to look alike and the heatwaves were skewing Storm's vision.

All the while Storm answered Fang's endless questions. She explained the temple, the pirates, the attack that had started it all, and even some personal questions he had been eager to know. It was annoying, but it distracted her from the sweltering heat that was rising with every minute. He was particularly interested in her life growing up, something Storm was reluctant to share.

After an hour or so of flying directly under the sun they decided to take a break.

"This isn't working. I think we should land," Lotus advised to the group. Her wing-beats were uneven and sloppy, restrained by the heat. Even Oryx and Fang were looking rather haggard. They soared towards a small valley that was lined with walls of hoodoos and stones. They landed in the shade of one such walls and flopped down in exhaustion. Immediately Storm grabbed her water-bag and slurped up the remaining bit, squeezing the bag until only drips emerged. It was barely enough to coat her mouth but she would just have to suffer through it, there was no place to get water anywhere close.

"Here," Canyon's voice startled her as he approached her from behind. With his extended talons he offered her his own canteen which seemed to be still half full. "You need it more than I do."

Storm frowned and looked back and forth between the canteen and Canyon. "Don't be ridiculous! I'm not going to take your water, you need it too." Storm pushed the canteen back towards Canyon who then stubbornly pushed it forward again.

"Storm, don't be proud. As an IceWing the heat affects you a lot more – "

"As an _IceWing_ I can handle myself just fine thanks!" Storm refused be the weak link, mooching off her friends' resources like some beggar. Storm was used to living a humble life, her family had never been rich or all that well off, but they had made due with what they had. They had never needed to rely on the charity of others and Storm wasn't about to start today.

Even if her throat was burning and her eyes blurred from the heat.

"What are you two arguing about _now_?" Lotus approached, her voice weary.

"Lotus, you're a doctor, tell Storm she needs to drink more water," Canyon demanded, giving the MudWing his most commanding voice. Lotus sighed, unimpressed.

"Alright, calm down. I'll talk to her," the MudWing offered, shooing Canyon away and leading Storm off to the side. The ice dragon glanced at her friend in confusion.

"Is this really something you need to speak to me in private about?"

"No, but did you want Canyon off your back or not?"

Storm realized the MudWing was simply offering her a break from Canyon's bossiness and she dipped her head in thanks. When they reached the edge of the shaded area Storm released a frustrated sigh. They were far enough away from the others that she didn't have to worry about being overheard. "I just don't understand why he has to single me out," she vented. "Does he think I am _that_ vulnerable here that I need to be watched like a hatchling?"

Lotus shook her head. "Oh Storm, we _both_ know why he's been paying so much attention to you." The lilt in her voice suggested something that made Storm's heart skip a beat.

"I – I don't know what you mean," Storm lied, cursing herself for stuttering.

Lotus moved to sit directly before Storm, her intense stare forcing Storm to look up. "Pretending that nothing is going on between you two isn't going to change anything. I told you in the market that Canyon might be getting feelings for you, now it's time for _you_ to admit the feelings are mutual."

Panic tightened Storm's chest and she turned away, no longer able to meet the MudWing's gaze. As much as Storm had been fighting against it there was no denying her thoughts of Canyon had become more frequent and certainly more romantic.

She released a heart heavy breath. "So what if I do have feelings? It's not like we can ever be together. Once this is all done with he's going back to the Sky Kingdom and I'm going home," She paused, struggling to swallow the lump in her dry throat. "It would be pointless to develop any relationship."

The MudWing didn't respond right away. She regarded Storm for a moment before casting a dour expression at the younger dragon. "Don't you think you're being rather selfish? Did you ever stop to think about what Canyon wants before throwing away any chance at a relationship?"

Storm jerked her gaze up, stunned by the MudWing's accusation. For a moment she was a little hurt. She had considered Lotus an understanding friend, but she had forgotten the history that Lotus and Canyon shared. No matter what Lotus would always put Canyon first.

But perhaps what was the most hurtful was that, as usual, Lotus was right. She hadn't stopped to consider what Canyon wanted…then again, she hadn't been thinking all that much about what she wanted either.

 _Do I want to be with Canyon? But he's a SkyWing, he can't come back with me to the Ice Kingdom. I would have to give up everything I worked for…_

Images of her family flashed through her head. She had promised to make them proud, to do whatever it took to protect their legacy. She had placed the oath in her heart, concentrating all her will to fulfill it…but now her heart was pulling her in another direction.

Storm shook her head numbly. "I – I don't know. There's still so much I have to do back in the Ice Kingdom. I can't just abandon my home…"

A warm talon rested on Storm's shoulder as Lotus' expression softened. "I understand, I should have remembered you have a life to get back to as well. I'm sorry I snapped at you, it's just…"

"I know," Storm spoke. "You care about Canyon."

"That's not the only reason," Lotus continued. Storm's eats twitched with intrigue as the healer released a forlorn sigh. "I know what it's like to have loved and lost. I just don't want either of you to do anything you regret…or regret not doing anything."

Storm blinked slowly, letting Lotus' advice settle in. At the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder who Lotus' had lost…but now was not the time to be asking questions. "I don't want that either but…I need to think about all this," she admitted.

The MudWing nodded before abruptly opening Storm's wing and pinching the soft membrane between the fleshy parts of her talons.

"OW!" Storm yelped. "What was that for?" She briskly pulled her wing back and tenderly rubbed the defiled area.

"Just checking if you're dehydrated. When you pinch the skin is should bounce back to its original shape, but when you're down on fluids it becomes less elastic and sticks together."

"How pleasant," Storm noted dryly, her snout twisted in a grimace. "So what's the verdict?"

"Slightly dehydrated but it's not life-threatening yet. I advise you to take it as easy as you can. Stay in the shade and drink more fluids."

"But I'm all out of water."

Lotus rolled her eyes. "Then stop being so vain and take the water Canyon offered you…speaking of which."

From across the shady terrain the scarred face of Canyon came marching towards them. Apparently the others had gone off exploring and left the scowling SkyWing behind to watch the gear that they had dumped into the sand. So far he wasn't doing a good job at watching it. "What's taking so long over here?" He demanded as he approached. Storm and Lotus rolled their eyes together. _Such a control freak,_ Storm thought affectionately. "Have you managed to talk some sense into her?" He asked Lotus. The MudWing smiled cryptically.

"Perhaps…" she offered and, with a wink at Storm, headed back towards the others, leaving Canyon and Storm alone.

The SkyWing furrowed his brow. "Well that was vague." He shook his head to rid himself of the thought and focused back on Storm. "So are you going to accept my offer or am I going to have to force you to drink some water?"

Storm huffed. "I'd like to see you try! But…fine, I'll could use maybe a few sips." She hated the idea of taking from others, but she supposed it was better than passing out or dying. She permitted herself three large gulps from Canyon's canteen before shoving it back in his talons. She immediately felt better. Her throat, while still dry, at least no longer burned.

"Thank you," She sighed. The smile Canyon gave her made her breath hitch.

"Of course, we're a team after all. We need to look out for each other." His words were warm but his eyes looked anxious. For a moment he avoided her eyes but, taking a deep breath, lifted his gaze to hers, a desperation beginning to swell within their fiery depths.

"Storm…I was actually wondering that…well maybe once this is all over with and everyone is safe…maybe we could…"

Much to Storm's relief and disappointment Canyon's awkward proposition was cut off as Fang began to holler at them.

"HEY! We have an issue!" He shouted, running towards them. There was a panicked look in his eyes that Storm noticed right away. Her brow furrowed in concern while Canyon swished his tail in frustration.

"Can it be dealt with later? We were just discussing some…important things," The SkyWing muttered through a tight jaw.

Fang shook his head. "This can't wait…its Oryx."

Storm inhaled sharply, lunging forward to grab Fang by the shoulders. "What's wrong? Is he alright? Where is he?"

"We can't find him anywhere! We were exploring around and he went off to check something out. He was only a few meters away but when I called to him there was no answer."

Storm tried to keep her breathing steady. _No no no no I REFUSE to lose him as well._

Canton finally realized the seriousness as well. He stood up, mouth set in a stony frown. "We'll have to hold off on searching for the map for now. He couldn't have gotten far."

"Show me," Storm growled, gripping Fang tighter. "Show me where you last saw him."


	14. The Search

Running as fast as they could, which wasn't all that quick on the shifting sand, they left the comforting protection of the shade and followed Fang as he lead them down towards a gorge. As soon as Storm emerged into the sunlight every single movement became twice as strenuous and exhausting. Her insulating scales that proved necessary in the arctic only served to cook her alive in the desert sun.

Gritting her teeth she pushed forward, trying to keep up with the males. Oryx was missing. There was no time to flop over and rest.

"Are you sure you can't find him?" Canyon asked, matching the SandWing's pace. "Did you even _try_ searching?"

Fang rolled his eyes. "No, it _never_ occurred to us to look for him. Thank the MOONS you were here to suggest it. What would we _ever_ do without you?"

Canyon pursed his lips. "No need to be so sarcastic," he murmured.

Storm had always imagined the desert to be flat and endless, but she was soon learning that many of the assumptions she had been taught in the Ice Kingdom were wrong. For starters, the terrain here dipped and folded like snow banks. Storm had to dig her heels into the sand as the trio descended into a gorge bordered by steep cliffs. It was like a giant talon had gouged a deep, jagged wound into the dry terrain.

At the bottom of the gorge Lotus and Ember sat waiting, their eyes scanning around but their expressions pessimistic. As Canyon and Storm approached they went directly to Lotus who forlornly confirmed what Fang had said.

"I was keeping an eye on him and everything!" Lotus exclaimed. Her talons kept clutching at the sand but it fell between the gaps in her fingers like water. She knitted her brow which was tinged with sweat and red dust. "He was there one moment and gone the next. I…I don't understand…"

"Well surely SOMEONE saw where he went! He couldn't have just _vanished_." Storm looked around at the group of dragons despertly, waiting for anyone to bring up some observation, idea or _anything_ about where the pale SandWing could have gone, but none spoke up. Fang and Ember were looking at the ground, embarrassed, whereas Lotus was staring off at nothing, deep in thought.

Storm took a deep breath, then another, and a third for good luck. She was having a hard time breathing. She felt like pounding on her head. _I should have been watching him! I should have been taking better care of him… I need to find him. I'm not leaving this Moon-forsaken place until I get that idiot back! If it kills me then fine!_

"He couldn't have gotten far. We need to start searching right away. We might be able to pick up his scent if we're lucky," Storm directed before spreading her wings with the intention of flying out of the gorge. Just as she began to pump her wings a wave of dizziness shifted the earth beneath her. She toppled into Canyon before her feet even left the ground.

"Storm!" The SkyWing shouted in alarm before grasping her in his strong arms. Storm's face bloomed a dark blue as she was forced lay limp against Canyon's chest until her vision steadied. She didn't know whether she was blushing from the heat, from being in Canyon's arms or the humiliation of nearly fainting in front of everyone. It was probably all the above.

"I-I'm fine. Really." Storm tried to regain some dignity and stand on her own. She tilted again and this time was caught by a pair of brown talons.

"I _told_ you to take it easy, didn't I?" Lotus' stern voice lectured. "In fact, I specifically said to stay out of the sun and drink plenty of fluids. I would _appreciate_ if you took my advice for once in your life."

Storm snorted. "I don't have time for this! We need to find Oryx. My needs can wait."

Next to her Canyon emitted a low, frustrated growl. "You won't be helping anyone if you keel over dead!" He released a tense sigh, his expression softening in way that made Storm's legs wobble…or maybe it was the heat again. "How about this: we'll find you a nice, cool place for you to rest while we go and look for Oryx. How does that sound?"

The integrity of Storm's limbs returned and she fixed Canyon with a stubborn glower. "I'm NOT going to just sit on my rump while Oryx could be in danger!"

"Oh for cryin' out loud. Would you all just shut up? We're wasting time here!" Ember loudly complained and the trio of arguing dragons paused to look in her direction. The small female stalked up to Storm and pointed a talon at her nose. "Listen, IceWing. We can't have you wondering around the desert in this state…"

For a moment Storm balked in surprise. Was Ember actually _concerned_ about her wellbeing? _Maybe she doesn't hate me as much as I thought…_

"…because if you faint I'm NOT gonna be the one to carry you! I'll leave you to the buzzards," she hissed, stomping out the hopeful spark that had lit in Storm's chest.

 _So much for that,_ Storm thought dryly. A gentle brush against her wing made the ice dragon look up. Canyon's concerned eyes met hers. "Storm, you _really_ shouldn't be pushing yourself like this." He ducked his head slightly in an almost bashful way. When he spoke again his voice was a low murmur intended for her ears alone, "I'm worried about you."

Storm softened her expression in turn and she let slip a small smile. She couldn't help it. It made her feel all fuzzy and mushing on the inside to hear him say that. To hear that he cares.

 _Oryx cares about me as well._ Storm thoughts came with a wave of guilt. Images of Oryx trapped or lost somewhere, desperately waiting for help to arrive while slowly dying from thirst or heat…even she had to admit that last part was probably an overreaction. As a SandWing Oryx should be able to survive without water for a while.

Still, the urgency to find him was pushing at the back of her mind and driving her mad.

Storm sighed and looked down at sand-caked talons. "If anything happens to Oyrx I'll never forgive myself," she half-whispered. She lifted her chin to lock eyes with Canyon. "I promise I'll be careful and not overdo it but, please, I just want to help."

Storm was annoyed by the pleading lilt in her voice. She hadn't meant to ask permission. She was going to help look for Oryx and that was that! Why did she feel the need to get Canyon's blessing?

With a slight blush she refused to acknowledge the obvious answer to that question.

Luckily the pleading must have worked since, much to her surprise, after several minutes of scowling and snorting Canyon finally relented. "Very well," he acquiesced. "But I want you to pair up with Lotus so she can keep an eye on you," he ordered. Storm smiled triumphantly and turned to Lotus who had a disproving grimace on her face. Storm wasn't sure if the healer's sour mood was due to being stuck with IceWing-babysitting duty or if it was because no one was taking her advice…again. "You two can take the left side of the gorge. See if you can pick up his scent or detect any fresh talon marks. The rest of us will go to the right," Canyon continued to issue out orders.

Fang stood rigid and gave a salute. "Aye aye, sir! Would you like me to polish your talons while I'm at it? Or mop the…deck? What _do_ military dragons do anyway?" Fang's mockery was put to an end when Ember thwacked him on the head with her wing.

"Shut it, this is serious! We need to find Oryx…he couldn't have gotten far so let's _go_ already." Nimbly she took to the sky and flew to the top of the ridge, waiting for the males to join her. Despite her constant agitation towards the small dragoness, Storm was at least grateful she was taking this seriously.

"She's right," the scarred SkyWing added. "Unless he's been captured I don't see why he would have gone far. Stay within sight of each other at all times and be careful."

Lotus nodded loyally and Fang mumbled some sort of agreement, still rubbing the part of his head that Ember had hit. Before the groups parted Storm looked one last time at Canyon. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"We'll find him. I promise," he whispered. Storm's heart fluttered at his intense gaze. She merely nodded back, not trusting herself to speak least her tongue decided to trip over every word.

With one last nod the dragons went their separate ways and began their search.

* * *

Since Lotus didn't trust Storm's flying ability the two made their way on talon. All along the walls of the gorge were plenty of crevices and caves that had to be checked and double checked for any signs of the small SandWing. While Lotus scanned ahead Storm followed at a slower pace, resting in the shade as often as she could despite the anxious energy in her talons pulling her forward.

Every so often Storm would get a brief whiff of Oryx scent in passing before it was plucked from her nose. Even worse the odour would pop up at random, luring her into some crevice full of hope only to be a dead end, nothing more but a trick of the wind.

After being fooled for the tenth time Storm squeezed herself back out from a tight fissure, red dust coating her once white scales. "Nothing," she huffed to Lotus who was waiting for her outside. "How many more caves do we have to check?"

The MudWing's wings drooped. "That was the last one on our side. We could check beyond the gorge but I highly doubt Oryx would have gone that far unless…"

 _Unless he was captured,_ Storm finished the sentence with a shudder. She knew the Order would be searching this area as well, and even though she hadn't seen any sign of them recently that didn't mean they were safe.

"Still, even if he wasn't capture we must find him soon," Lotus continued. Using her talon as a visor the MudWing looked to the sky. "I'd say we've been searching for a couple of hours already…I don't recall Oryx having any water with him. By the time we find him he might be in worse condition than _you_."

Ignoring the offended prickle along her scales Storm instead focused on Lotus' strange concern that Oryx didn't have any water with him. Of all the things to be worried about why _that_? Weren't SandWings able to survive without water for extended periods of time? Storm spoke these questions to the MudWing who pursed her lips in contemplation.

"Ah, yes, well…" the brown dragon began hesitantly. "The thing is…I'm beginning to wonder if Oryx _is_ fully SandWing."

Storm blinked, letting Lotus' words sink in until the implication presented itself. "You mean…you think he's a _hybrid_?"

Lotus nodded. "Specifically a mix between a SandWing and an IceWing. Based on my observations and Oryx's history it's the only logical combination."

"That's ridiculous!" She protested. "You must be mistaken. If he were half IceWing I would have been able to tell."

As soon as the words left her mouth all the clues hit her in one overwhelming surge.

 _Oryx's father never did step up to claim him…we have no idea which tribe he could have been from. Not to mention Oryx's strangely pale scales…and he's said numerous times how he doesn't mind the cold which, for a SandWing, should have been near unbearable…oh seal guts!_ Storm wanted to smack herself for being so aloof.

But crowding her feelings of stupidity was an urgent fear pushing its way inside. "This is bad, this is really bad." Storm groaned and buried her head under her wings. Was Oryx collapsed somewhere under the sun dying of thirst? Would they find him in time?

"Indeed," Lotus agreed. "He might not be able to survive in this environment for as long as a normal SandWing would. We need to find him soon."

Feeling sick to her stomach Storm nodded somberly. "Maybe we should tell the others about this. In case they find him."

Lotus agreed although it was obvious she was reluctant to go around spreading this theory of hers without any real proof of it being true. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. Storm scanned the other side of the gorge for the three familiar specks that had been dotting the face of the cliff.

A talon gripped her heart when she didn't see then. She whipped her head left and right, stepping out to lean over the ledge so that she could run her eyes along the bottom of the canyon, searching high and low for her friends.

"W-where did they go?" Storm asked as if Lotus would have an answer. The MudWing only furrowed her brow, her gaze digging in to every arch, curve and ridge along the face of the cliff. Finally her eyes caught on something and she heaved a relieving breath.

"I see them! There, beside that fissure!"

Frantically following the direction of her pointed talon Storm locked her sights onto a familiar red face peering out from behind a pile of rubble halfway up the cliff's face. It was Canyon.

Storm legs shook from how relieved she was. From behind the same pile of rubble she saw two other heads briefly pop up before retreating back.

Everyone was safe. Storm felt her pulse relax while her annoyance set in.

"What's their problem!?" She hissed. "Scaring us like that! Don't they have any sense?"

Storm was shushed with a harsh tail flick from Lotus who was still staring intently at Canyon. "He's trying to tell us something," she informed, not taking her eyes off the SkyWing. Confused Storm did the same and found that Canyon was indeed trying to tell them something. He kept pointing aggressively at something above them before ducking down again out of view.

Storm jerked her head straight up towards the sky, but all she saw were a few wispy clouds atop a blue sky while a few lazy vultures circled above in a tight ring. Storm shook her head. _What was all_ that _about?_ She wondered. If Canyon had something to tell them then why not just come over and say it?

Her questions were answered as three dragons flew over the edge of the cliff into view, scattering the wake of vultures and tilting to fly down into the gorge. Storm's breath caught in her throat. It was the Order.

Gnosis was flying point with a NightWing and a RainWing on either side. Storm recognized them from the tavern but couldn't be bothered to remember their names. She had more important matters to attend, like finding a hiding spot. NOW.

Without a word the two females split apart, scrabbling over the vertical terrain to hide themselves. Storm retreated back into the narrow crevice that she had searched moments ago. It was a tight fit but as she shuffled to the back it opened up enough to give her some breathing space at least. A nagging worry at the front of her mind urged her to stick her head to see if Lotus had found a safe spot as well.

Just as she leaned forward to poke her snout out a shadow whisked by, followed shortly by the nearby sound of talons meeting sandy stone. Storm jerked her head back, holding her breath. There was someone just outside.

A multicolored tail lashed to-and-fro in front of the narrow opening of the fissure. _Seal dung!_ Storm silently cursed, pressing herself against the back of the cave wall.

"Ouboros, why did you land?" A far off yet oily voice asked. Storm suppressed a shudder at the sound of the SkyWing initiate. A second _thud_ emanated against the outside wall and this time when Gnosis spoke he was much too close. "Did you find anything pertaining to the map?"

"No, but I found something worth investigating," the RainWing replied. "Smell the earth," she ordered. "Do you recognize the scent?"

A moment of silence passed where Storm assumed Gnosis was snorting his crooked snout around the ground. An instant later his voice jerked up in fury, "The IceWing! I recognize her scent…she's been here recently along with that MudWing as well."

Storm's chest tightened as fear gripped her stomach. Pushing her talons against a nearby stone the IceWing attempted to put more distance between the opening crevice and herself, although it was pointless. She was already squished against the back of the cave, her wings painfully pinched against her sides.

Her heart was pounding. _Please don't look in here! Please just go away and look for that stupid map!_ She pleaded.

"Search the area. They couldn't have gotten far! We can't have them finding the –"

Storm never heard the last of his sentence as the stone she was pushing heavily against made a distinct and clear _click_ sound. Suddenly she was falling backwards as the wall she had been pressing against swung open like a gate. She watched the shrinking door swing back into place as she fell, taking with it the only source of light.

Before she could even acknowledge what was happening her body met the ground, the force of the impact wrenching the air from her lungs. She lay on the cold, damp ground, gasping for air and wincing as pain thrummed across her back.

Wait… _cold and damp_?

Coming to her senses Storm realized the ground here was not the typical dry, sandy dust she had been fighting with for the past few days.

Instead it was cold and hard and when she placed her talons down a layer of moist condensation could be felt.

Felt but certainly not seen. She was in complete darkness. Testing the air Storm took a deep breath through her nose, balking at the smell of lush vegetation and heavy, humid air.

"What the…" Storm started, her brow furrowing in deep confusion. "Where _am_ I?" She asked her echoes. She certainly wasn't in the desert any more but…how did she get here? What had happened? Was she experiencing one of those _mirage_ things that Fang kept talking about?

No. This felt too real to be a hallucination.

After several moments of utter confusion Storm abruptly recalled something she had heard recently. Something about enchanted tunnels created by the NightWings during the war. She didn't fully understand how they worked, but apparently they allowed one to travel vast distances in just a few steps. Storm had assumed that the NightWings' tunnels were the only portals in existence, but maybe that wasn't the case. Maybe she had found another one.

Taking several calming breaths Storm tried to not let her panic overwhelm her. _Don't freak out, I'm sure you can get back. All you need to do is climb back up to the door and…uh…well we'll figure out that part later. Maybe it'll just open for me when I get close? I suppose it's worth a shot…_

Just as Storm felt around in the dark for the wall that she would climb, a damp draft of air gushed from the opposite direction. She gasped. Mixed with the odour of damp earth and vegetation was the unmistakable smell of Oryx, clear and distinct.

Relief blossomed in her chest. He had been down here! He was close!

 _So THIS is where he disappeared to,_ she realized. _He must have triggered the door and fell down as well. I would call him an idiot for doing it but…well I just did the same thing so I guess I can't judge._

While a large, respectable part of her mind told her it was unwise to go gallivanting down a dark tunnel which could, for all she knew, be a giant labyrinth from which she would never find her way out again, a smaller yet stronger part urged her to find Oryx above all else.

In the end she chose Oryx over safety.

Besides, if the Order was still snooping around out there then there was no point returning now…she just hoped the others would be safe.

Storm took a deep breath and, on trembling talons, she slowly made her way forward into the darkness.


	15. The Underground Forest

Storm cursed as she stubbed her toe for the fortieth time. The dense darkness that plugged all her senses was getting both infuriating and terrifying. In the complete darkness it was like time had stopped, she had no idea how long she had been inching forward along the stone studded tunnel that seemed to curl and wind like a snake's body.

The only thing that kept her from giving in to her fear and turning tail was the promise of finding Oryx and the end. Luckily his scent was still strong.

 _How far could he have gone?_ She asked herself while tracing his scent around a bend. _What in Pyrrhia would have compelled him to go down this far? Seriously, when I get my talons on him – wait, what's that sound?_

Penetrating the eerie silence was a rumble. Distance and far, but unmistakable. Storm angled her head towards the sound, trying to pin-point which direction it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from her left, and when Storm tentatively stepped forward and felt around the walls her talons eventually brushed over a jagged edge of stone. As she continued to explore she discovered a narrow, choppy crevice just large enough for a dragon to pass through.

"Aha!" She exclaimed with excitement, then blushed a little when she realized she had spoken aloud. She cleared a few of the stones away and stuck her head inside. The rumbling was definitely coming from the end of this tunnel.

Stranger still, when Storm tested the air she detected Oryx's scent. He had gone through this crevice as well; no doubt towards the same rumbling around Storm heard now.

She knew SandWings had superior hearing. Perhaps Oryx had heard the rumble back where the hidden door emerged and had been lured down into the tunnels whereas Storm weaker ears were just hearing it now.

 _It would explain why he came down this far,_ she reasoned, gritting her teeth and releasing a sigh. _One of these days his irresponsible behaviour will be the end of him!_

Squeezing through the opening Storm emerged on the other side with a few more scratches but twice the determination. Eagerness getting the better of her she rushed forward, throwing aside all concerns of stubbed toes or holes in the ground. The rumbling increased the further she went to the point where the ground began to shake beneath her.

Storm knew very well the sound wasn't dragon or beast-made. In fact, it reminded her of summers in the Ice Kingdom, where the giant glaciers and icebergs would crumble apart; their enormous girth crashing into the ocean with a thunderous rumble that could be heard for miles. Everyone knew to avoid the glaciers around that time of year, although it wasn't uncommon for a few senseless youths to test their bravery by scaling the unstable structures either by choice or by dare.

Storm had never been stupid enough to do such a foolish and dangerous thing…although at the moment she couldn't help but wonder what she was running towards. If it wasn't an iceberg than what was it? An avalanche perhaps? But the sound was much to uniform and consistent to be caused by cascades of rocks and snow.

 _Well, whatever it is, I'll have to keep my guard up. I don't want to be taken by surprise –_

Storm's thoughts slammed to a frigid halt as she stepped off a ledge.

One minute the ground was there, the next it had vanished and she was plunging, for the second time that day, into a dark void. Before she could even let out a screech her fall was brought to a stop as she plunged head-first into cool body of water.

It was ironic really. For the past 24 hours water had been constantly on her mind. The dry had penetrated every cell of her body driving her mad. There had been times where she wished for enough water to drown herself in.

Well, she got her wish.

Bubbles frothed around her as she came to a complete stop, the water rushing to sweep under every scale. With the small part of her brain that wasn't panicking Storm reasoned she had fallen into some sort of underground river. This fact was made known as, even submerged, Storm could feel the strong current already pushing her along.

Tearing through the water with her claws Storm swam to the surface and took a gulp of air. Her limbs were working frantically to keep her head above the water. Storm knew how dangerous the ocean would be, but she had no idea rivers could be equally as aggressive. It pushed her along at what she assumed must have been fairly high speeds to be creating such turbulence.

Several times the water washed over her head in terrifying waves. Flash backs of when she had rescued Oryx from drowning overwhelmed her. How she had swam for so long and so hard, trying to keep both their heads above water, the never ending pounding of salt water against her eyes and mouth, the foam going up her nose and choking her.

 _Stay calm, Storm. Stay calm,_ she ordered, forcing her fears of drowning aside. _If you try to fight the current you'll just exhaust yourself and drown. Just keep you head above water and let the river run its course._

Easier said than done. The current had suddenly picked up as Storm felt gravity shift. The water was now rushing downwards further in to the mountain or ground or where-ever the heck it was. Storm's head went under as the suffocating foam tackled her down. Using every reserve of strength she pushed herself up and was surprised to find that light was now pouring in, illuminating the dull, gray cavern that housed the river.

Twisting her body around Storm tried to find the source of light. It was coming from the end of the tunnel, but to her unadjusted eyes it simply looked like a giant ball of light growing larger and larger as the river lunged towards it.

In addition to the growing light the same rumbling sound as before had returned, but this time it was near deafening. It was like flying in the middle of a lightning storm, thunder crackling right next to your ear.

Soon enough Storm was able to actually make out what she was heading towards. It wasn't a ball of light. It was an opening rimmed with sharp rocks, the water sifting through them like a sieve before spewing out into open air in a cascade.

If she hadn't been using every limb to swim she would have slapped herself for being so stupid. _It's a waterfall!_ Storm realized excitedly. _I've never seen one in real life, only in scrolls…they're a lot louder than I thought they'd be._

Her excitement was quickly extinguished as she neared the summit. She knew she couldn't let herself be thrown off the ledge. Best case scenario there was a deep lake beneath the waterfall, although the more likely option was that there were sharp rocks. If she could get her wings above water she could fly down and land instead of being pummeled alive by water and stone.

Bracing herself, Storm locked her vision on a particularly large, jagged rock poking up from the bottom. In fact, it was somewhat strange that all the stones that lined the opening were pointed like teeth and were either placed on the floor or roof of the tunnel, none on the sides.

 _Don't get distracted!_ Storm scolded, returning to the task and talon. She swam into position, making sure she was aligned with the largest stone poking out from the bottom. Just as she was about to be thrust over the edge she latched onto the rock and swung herself around to clutch her feet onto the ledge. She was now semi-dangling from the mouth of the tunnel, struggling to keep her grip as the tumbling water pushed against her chest. Using her hind legs she tried to lift her back above the water, frantically flapping her wings as she did, but at the same time being careful to not open them fully lest they fill with water and drag her down.

Her foot slipped once but she was able to get it back. Slowly she lifted her foot onto the same stone she was holding onto. In one quick jump she propelled herself upwards and snagged her talon on a stone hanging from the roof. Luckily the rocks were porous and rough so that she could dig her talons in for a steady grip.

Finally, after several minutes of struggling Storm had her two feet precariously balanced on the protruding rocks on the bottom while her front-talons gripped the ones above. She was out of the water and panting heavily. 

"Ok. So far so good," she commented. At this moment Storm was reminded of the funny story her sister told had told her of a guard who had tried to eat a live lemming. Apparently the small creature had refused to be eaten that day and had lodged itself in the throat of the dragon, forcing the guard to hack it back up.

Storm was feeling a little like that lemming right now, lodged in the throat of some larger being.

Carefully she turned her head around to look behind her and nearly lost her grip as vertigo hit. It was a steep drop down but the bottom was obscured by mist from the waterfall. There was probably a main lake at the bottom and as she gazed further ahead she could see that the river continued on the ground level.

Storm took a deep breath. It was now or never.

Closing her eyes Storm let herself fall backwards, making sure to push off to lift herself above the water. She spread her wings to catch herself, but the water caught the very tip of her wing and threw her off balance.

She teetered in the air, eventually hitting the water and painfully skipping several times along the surface before her momentum was lost as she came to a stop. The current here was much weaker and Storm was able to heave herself towards the riverbed and haul her aching, tired mass onto the dirt. She flopped down, panting hard.

"Seal dung," she cursed between breaths while mentally praising the ancestors that she had lived. Even when they were resting on the ground her limbs were still shaking from the exertion. Storm laid there for several moments, letting her body rest until numbly she registered a presence close by.

She weakly opened her eyes just as a blurry figure came into focus, the reflection of the water wisping along his characteristic cream scales.

"Storm?" Oryx spoke, equal parts amazed and relieved.

Storm's eyes shot open. "ORYX!" She screamed. Storm tried to jump up to hug him but her weak legs failed and she merely tackled him to the ground in a sopping mess of white scales. Oryx didn't seem to mind at all. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" She demanded, grabbing his head and checking for wounds.

"You found me! You actually found me!" He exclaimed over her questions, hugging her back. Finally they separated and Oryx grabbed her shoulders, his eyes wide and serious. "You wouldn't _believe_ what happened to me, it was SO terrifying! I was exploring this cave along the wall and I saw this weird stone stuck in the ground. It had looked like it was buried there so I thought 'hey, maybe someone buried something beneath it' so I tried to pull it out - "

"And then the back wall disappeared and you fell through," Storm finished, filling in his story with her own experience.

"Well I didn't _fall_ through," Oryx clarified. "When it opened up I went in quickly to investigate but then it shut behind me. OH! And _then_ I heard a waterfall so I knew that would be a way out of the tunnel system so I followed the sound and put markings along the wall so I could find my way back." He leaned back with a proud smirk. "Pretty clever, eh?"

Storm blushed, embarrassed that she hadn't thought to do that. "Oh. Uh, yes. Very smart. But how did you get past the river – I thought you couldn't swim."

"I didn't need to swim," he explained. "There was plenty of room above to fly. Whenever I needed a rest I'd just cling to the walls…" Oryx tilted his head to the side. "Isn't that what _you_ did?"

Storm's blush deepened. "Uh – well – the important thing is that you're safe." She then pointed an accusatory talon at his nose, suddenly all the fear and anxiety turning into annoyance. "And I hope you've learned to be more careful! We were all so worried about you. _I_ was worried about you! I thought the Order had swooped in and taken you or that you had collapsed somewhere in the desert to die."

"Pfft, oh please." Oryx swished his talon as if to swat her concerns away. "As if the Order could ever catch _me_. Also, you seem to be forgetting I'm a _SandWing_. I was BORN to live in the desert."

Storm nearly retorted that he was only _half_ SandWing but bit her tongue at the last second. Now was not the time to go revealing unproven theories about his heritage.

"Besides," Oryx went on, "just _look_ at this place! Isn't it amazing?" He spread his wings wide and spun around to emphasize their surroundings.

Storm peered around, not understanding what could be so great about some river in the middle of the forest only to realize her assumption had been wrong all along. Yes, they were in some sort of small forest but it was nothing like the pine-tree forests back home.

The trees here were tall and thin, but crowned with vibrant green leaves that were as thick as Storm's head and longer than her horns. Not to mention they were greener than anything Storm had ever seen in her life. The trees grew close together, creating a dense wall of leaves and branches that coated the uneven ground while shorter, fern-like plants bundled close to the riverbed.

Vines with flowers of every size and colour crawled along the tree-tops where vibrant birds and insects fleeted in and out, calling to each other in whistles, tweets and chirps of every variety. Storm followed the flight of one particular bird and was abhorred to find how gaudy it looked with its giant neon orange feathers that were longer than its body. Didn't these animals have any sense of modesty? How could it even _fly_ with all that fluff?

But what baffled Storm the most was not the creatures. The most stunning feature of this land was that the forest was surrounded by towering walls. I was as if it had been encased in a giant stone egg that opened up at the top in a large hole that allowed the sun to filter down in golden sheets. It acted like a spotlight to shine over the plethora of life that surrounded her.

All those years of training herself to keep her emotions hidden vanished as her jaw fell open, wonder dazzling her eyes. "It's incredible," she breathed.

The opening itself was so high up Storm could barely make out the leafy plants that leaned over its ledge. When she squinted she realized they were actually trees! There was an entire jungle up above them which, to Storm, meant two things:

First, this underground river and cavern must be extremely old for the jungle to have fleshed out and filled it to the brim, and secondly, they _definitely_ weren't in the desert anymore.

"I know, right?" Oryx smiled and gently used his wing-thumb to close her jaw. "Isn't the coolest most amazing thing you've ever seen in your entire life!?" The SandWing fluttered his wings and stamped his feet in excitement, a dopey grin plastered across his face. Despite all the grief the small dragon had put her through in the past few hours, Storm couldn't help but melt at the sight of such innocent joy.

"Ok, ok, I admit it's pretty amazing," Storm agreed with her own, smaller smile. Even though she was trying to keep her cool Storm couldn't ignore that furious itch of curiosity that burned just beneath her scales, urging her to explore every nook and cranny in sight. Everything here was completely new to her; not even her scrolls back home described such life.

Oryx nodded vigorously. "Yeah, if it weren't for all the creepy statues everywhere this place would be ideal."

Storm stopped mid-nod to shoot Oryx a befuddled grimace. "Say _what_?"

The cream-scaled dragon tilted his head to the side, his expression taught with confusion. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed them!" He waved his talons around frantically. "You _literally_ just fell out of one!" His swinging talons now seemed to be pointing at something behind Storm. She whipped around and what she saw made her jaw swing open again.

Looming high above the ground, almost touching the roof of the giant cavern, was a monolithic statue of a rearing dragon carved into the wall. Out of its massive mouth spewed the waterfall that Storm had ungracefully tumbled from.

The tribe was impossible to determine as its scales and features were had either been withered away from eons of natural abuse or were thickly covered in moss and vines.

As she stared up at the snarling maw of the lifeless giant a shudder past over her body. Now that she knew what to look for her eye continued to pick out draconic shapes everywhere. Figures of smaller dragons lined the walls of the enclosure; they too were coated in a thick layer of moss and vines. More statues could even be seen within the forest itself where the roots of bushes and trees ensnared them like cocoons. Some were posed to just be sitting while others were rearing like the one at the waterfall, their jaws open in what was once a fierce snarl but now was a nesting space for birds.

Moments ago this place had been a treasure trove of wonder, but now a dangerous air had settle like dense fog, coating everything in a sinister light. Storm sensed that no-one had been meant to find this place.

"We- we should leave," she murmured, her brow creased with worry. "We shouldn't be here." When she turned to look at the younger dragon she was irked to find he had strayed off to investigate some bush covered in pink berries.

"Oryx, are you even listening to me?" Her ears flicked back in annoyance. "We need to leave…DON'T EAT THOSE!" Storm dashed forward and knocked the talon-full of berries out of his grasp.

"Aww, come on! Why not?" He sulked, pouting as the small pink orbs tumbled into the dirt.

"What if they're poisonous or something?" She offered. "I read in a scroll once that certain tropical foods are toxic."

"Huh…" Oryx pondered this information. "Well THAT would have been nice to know an hour ago because I've been eating these things nonstop since I got here." He then promptly picked several more of the berries and tossed them into his mouth.

Storm fixed Oryx with a stern gaze before realizing he wasn't even paying attention. Either way, she guessed the berries weren't lethal or else they'd have known by now.

 _Still, he should be more careful! Am I the only one here that actually thinks about these things?_

The answer was apparently 'yes' as Oryx had run off again to sniff some orange flowers hanging off a tree.

"Oryx, we need to leave! This place is dangerous," she said while chasing after him. The SandWing removed his pollen covered snout from the flower and gave Storm a withering look.

"Storm, I have been here for, like, a hundred years – "

"You've only been here a couple of hours." Storm's interjection went ignored.

"And nothing here has come CLOSE to being dangerous or life threatening," he finished with a firm nod. He then skewed his face in thought. "Erm, well, _almost_ nothing."

Storm stiffened. "What is THAT supposed to mean? If you're trying to make me feel at ease you're doing a terrible job."

Oryx scratched his chin and shrugged. "Oh, it's nothing serious. When I was exploring I just came across this weird opening in the wall that gave off this sort of…strange energy…" his sentence dropped off and the SandWing seemed to zone out for a moment before shaking himself and starting again. "Aha, sorry that doesn't even make any sense." He ducked his head in embarrassment.

Storm narrowed her eyes. "Strange energy? That could mean its animus touched. They tend to have an _odd_ aura around them."

The pale dragon blinked in thought. "Do you think it could be connected with the map we're looking for? That's an animus touched object, right?"

Storm perked at the idea, her optimism getting the upper-hand. "That's possible. Technically we _did_ find this place in the desert where they said the map would be, and the map is allegedly very old…probably the same age as these statues."

"And it would make _complete_ sense for an ancient artifact to be kept in a creepy, cursed hole!" Oryx added earnestly, although Storm wasn't entirely convinced that was true.

Despite her previous concerns Storm was now caught up in the moment. She was practically vibrating with excitement, her thoughts whirring with the possibilities that, maybe, they had finally found what they've been looking for.

"Oryx, show me where the opening is."


	16. Cat mug

Oryx crashed through the thick vines and bushes that clogged the ground. He leapt over stones and expertly dodged birds that whizzed by his head. He let out a laugh as he jumped up and caught one in his maw. In one gulp it was down.

"Show off," Storm yelled as she trudged along at a much slower pace. She wasn't used to all this _stuff_ underfoot. Sure, in the Ice Kingdom one had to trek through thick, heavy snow most of the time, but at least it didn't wrap around your talons and trip you! Not to mention things kept jumping out at her wherever she put her foot down. Rodents, birds, and insects scrambled to flee as the dragons clambered through the thick fauna. At first Storm had tried to avoid stepping on them but it was becoming near impossible to keep track of them all.

Not that any of this bothered Oryx. The young dragon navigated like he had lived here his whole life. Storm tore her gaze away from the path long enough to see that he had paused near a bundle of trees, waiting for her to catch up. "Come on, Storm. What's taking so long?"

"Shut it," she growled, though there was no aggression behind the words. Carefully she tip-toed over to him, muffling a yelp as a snake wiggled out from beneath a fallen statue. With a huff she sat down next to him, her scales crawling. "How much further till the opening?" She asked, although what she _really_ wanted to know was how much longer she would have to walk through this mine-field of creatures.

"Just past these trees," he answered, lifting his fore-talons off the ground to bring his head higher. He squinted then pointed with his talon. "Yeah! I see it now!"

Again he was off, bounding through the jungle like some RainWing. Storm followed again, wondering what she was about to walk into. Oryx had described a strange energy emanating from this opening. If it was animus touched, then it could very well be what their searching for…depending on where it led.

Still, Storm tried to not get her hopes up as she pushed past the last row of trees before stumbling back in shock at the sight before her.

Oryx's 'opening' was a massive chasm that rose above the treeline. A dry draft wafted out of it like hot breath, and the whole thing was carved to look like a dragon's mouth. A tongue of stone acted as a ramp from the jungle floor into the jaws where teeth as tall as Storm lined the upper and lower lips. Vines had grown on the walls around it, crawling into the statue's mouth like snakes being swallowed.

She had been so distracted with the life below her feet she hadn't bothered to look up.

Oryx sat next to it looking like a mouse. "Creepy, right?"

"Oh yeah," Storm agreed without hesitation. But creepiness aside, Oryx had been right. As Storm approached the hole her whole body seemed to hum and tingle with an unseen force. Something magic-y was definitely going on here!

"Have you gone in yet?" She asked, unable to tear her gaze away.

From the corner of her eye she saw Oryx gaped at her. "Are you crazy!? Just _look_ at this thing!" He pointed with exaggerated emphasis at the teeth and tongue. "I'd rather not be eaten alive thanks."

Storm rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, where's that energetic curiosity you had at the market? Don't you want to do a little exploring?"

He folded his arms across his chest. "Markets are different from enchanted mouth-shaped carvings that want to swallow you up whole. Just so you know." He tilted his nose up in distaste at the whole idea, but for Storm it was the opposite.

Bustling markets made her anxious. Enchanted passageways filled her with wonder.

"Fine. You remain out here while I go in." With her head held high she faked a confident stride forward towards the gaping mouth. Even if it did fill her with wonder, Storm had to admit it was pretty terrifying as well. She had just been through one long, dark passageway to get here. She wasn't looking forward to another.

 _At least this time I'll be on talon instead of bobbing down a river._

"What?" Oryx's indignant demand sounded behind her. He rushed forward, quickly matching her pace. "If you think for one second I'm letting you go in there alone then you'd better think again!" With almost a protective air he marched ahead of her. Storm didn't know whether to be flattered or offended.

In the end her pride won and she was offended.

"Oryx, stay behind me. We have no idea what could be inside."

He stopped just before reaching the tongue, his head titled in thought.

"Do you think there'll be ghosts?"

"What?"

"You know. Ghosts! They float around and go 'OoooOOOooOOooo' and move stuff around."

Storm groaned and whatever exasperated face she made caused Oryx to giggle. "I know what a ghosts is, just – never mind, let's go in already."

Now, a dragon of the First Circle would deny that such silly things exist. _Ghosts and spirits,_ they would scoff and flip their snouts high in the air, _what utter nonsense._

But Storm had been raised on the myths of the Ice Kingdom, the very blood of their culture. While she didn't suspect there to necessarily be ghosts inside this cavern, there was no telling what other guardian spirits might linger in the sandstone.

Mustering up her last bit of nerve Storm placed a talon on the tongue-ramp of the statue and recoiled at the unnatural warmth.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," Storm stammered, swallowing back her heebie-jeebies.

With Oryx tightly at her side – to the point he was nearly stepping on her talons – they entered the damp cavern to find a set of descending stairs that led to blackness. Storm couldn't help but notice it's resemblance to a throat.

She nudged the SandWing. "Well Mr. Fire-breather. After you."

He narrowed his eyes playfully. "What happened to the whole 'stay behind me' thing?"

"That was before you became useful," she joked, put paused when she noticed the fearful glint in his eyes. He was doing well to hide it behind his mischievous smile but the subtle furrow in his brow and uneasy twitching of his tail was his tell. She reached out with her wing tip and nudged his arm. "Hey, I'll be right next to you the whole time. I won't leave your side."

If someone had said that to Storm, she probably would have bristled and told them she didn't need a babysitter, but Oryx was different. He sighed in relief. "Ok. Thanks."

With scales brushing they descended the stairs. Oryx blew out a puff of flame every couple of steps while Storm grew accustomed to feeling his warmth. For such a seemingly old structure, it was surprisingly well persevered. The stairs were clean and undamaged, the walls lined with intricate carved images of desert snakes and flowers that swirled and ebbed into each other like waves. In all honesty, Storm couldn't help but be reminded of the IceWing temple on the Order's island. However, whereas _that_ temple had shown signs of wear from being exposed to the elements, here the etched shapes were unmarred by time.

In fact, there didn't even appear to be any dust or speck of dirt at all.

 _That's weird,_ Storm thought, running her talons along the walls just as Oryx's previous ball of fire faded. _I didn't think ancient tombs had maids._

"How old do you think this temple is?" She asked, her voice echoing down the tunnel. "It looks almost like it was carved yesterday."

"I dunno. Do I look like a cave expert to you?" Oryx answered in the dark before blowing out some more fire. Deciding she better stick close to her only light source Storm quickly hurried after him while questions churned in her mind like the chunky caribou stew her father used to make.

In silence they continued down the stairs until even the light entering from the entrance disappeared, leaving Oryx with the hefty task of sole-light barer. Now, Storm had never really been afraid of the dark. Darkness was a frequent visitor to the Ice Kingdom, coming for months at a time as the sun went down behind the chilly mountain peaks. During these long, cold winters they at least would have their moon-globes to light the way. But there was something…unnerving about going through the dark by firelight.

Perhaps it was the twisting shadows that jumped around like a pack of wolves hunting on the tundra. Storm found herself itching for more light.

Her wish would soon be granted in the most unsettling of ways.

As they descended a glow began to emanate along the walls as if beams of light had been shattered and their dust brushed along the carved images. At first it startled her but once she grew accustomed to it the fear turned into intrigue. Unable to resists Storm reached out a talon and gently swiped it along the walls where the glow emerged, half-expecting it to rub off like glitter.

"What _is_ this?" She asked mostly to herself, but Oryx was kind enough to answer with a shrug.

"There's more of it up ahead," he said, the outline of his face awashed in the soft golden light. Indeed, looking towards the bottom of the stairs one might be tricked into thinking they were emerging into a sunlit room.

Storm knew that was impossible, they were deep underground, but it was just so bright! Almost impulsively she began to rush towards the light but Oryx's stopped her path with his tail.

"Hmm, I feel like YOU should be the one saying this, but maybe we _shouldn't_ go running towards some mysterious light at the bottom of a deep, dark tunnel? Just a thought."

Storm blushed at her own foolishness. " . That's a good idea."

Aggressively pretending she didn't notice Oryx's smug smile she continued forward on much stealthier talons. She gave the air a testing sniff, not really expecting to scent anything other than damp sand and stagnant air. But she _did_ smell something. A dragon. Male. And it was fresh.

"We have company," she whispered and her companion's ears perked. "Test the air for yourself."

Oryx's nostrils flexed as he silently did as directed. His eyes widened. "Who of all the Moons would be down _here_?" He then looked at her, worry creasing his face. "Do you think it's the Order? Did they get here before us?"

She shook her head, explaining how Oroboros and Gnosis and found her scent close to the tunnel's opening. "If they had known about the passage they would have checked for me there. Instead they flew off. I don't believe it's them."

Still, this did not ease their worries.

With all their senses completely alert they crawled forward until they reached the bottom, but the sight that greeted them stopped them in their tracks and erased all caution from their minds.

The space they had stepped into was the size of the ballroom she had seen at Queen Glacier's palace. Arched columns of onyx hugged the walls like ribs that connected at a soaring height at the ceiling. More glitter-light was collected at the top but in large bunches forming numerous chandeliers of stolen gold.

But this was not a ballroom. It was another temple. That much was clear from the strange shape of the room. It had seven sides to it, all identically shaped and sized with large tapestries covering them entirely. One such tapestries depicted what Storm could only assume was the map of the plants. Rings within rings showing their track across the stars, except this tapestry had the _sun_ in the center which Storm found rather odd. Another showed a large snake in a perfect circle biting its tail.

On a raised platform at the back wall was the altar made of what looked to Storm's eye as amethyst, turquoise, and quartz. It was perhaps three times larger than the one from the island and was draped in purple silken sheet depicting, of course, a two headed dragon in gold stitching.

Opposite to each other on two of the seven walls were large archways leading into torch-lit halls. Storm wondered if maybe that had run out of the sundust stuff and had to resort to more primitive lighting fixtures.

Oryx let out a low whistle that bounced off the black-marble floor, it's smooth surface reflecting his image perfectly as he spun around to take it all in. A large star made of silver had been inlaid into the stone floor, but even that had been polished into mirror-like quality. "Fantastic! Storm, are you seeing this?" His eyes glittered in awe, and Storm herself had to admit it was beautiful.

 _Of course, not as beautiful as the one in the Ice Kingdom,_ she lied to herself. At the sound of talons clicking against the stone floor she looked up to see Oryx rushing towards the altar at the back. Alarm shot through her. "Oryx wait!"

But, of course, he didn't, so she was forced to rush after him, trying to walk on the back of her heels to prevent her sickled talons from making too much noise. "Oryx!" She whispered harshly, joining him at the table. "What are you doing! You'll get us in trouble. Need I remind you we're NOT alone down here?" She cast a wary glance back at the archways, wondering if someone was patrolling.

When she looked back the hybrid was on the other side of the altar, inspecting the various tools and objects place about. He had an incense holder in one talon and a silver goblet studded in rubies and emeralds in the other. "Woooow, this is probably worth a fortune! Heh, luckily Fang and Ember aren't here. They'd have this place looted in a second."

Irritation spiked through her scales. "Are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh, sure. But check _this_ out!" He put down the other stuff and grasped onto a basic porcelain mug that had little kitty-cat faces painted all over it like someone had let their one-year old dragonet go wild with a paint-brush. It was both tacky and disgustingly adorable. Oryx turned it over in his talons, his head shaking in pure befuddlement. "Hmm, I always thought evil temples of doom would have less… cat art."

Storm checked over her shoulder. "Spoken like a true expert on all things wicked and malevolent. Now put it down," she urged. "We shouldn't be messing with this stuff. It could be animus touched or…something." Nervousness was beginning to tighten in her chest, sobering her up. Her thoughts kept jumping back to the dragon-scent she had detected in the stairs. That dragon was bound to find them if they lingered here long, and the more stuff they messed with the harder it will be to cover their tracks.

But Oryx wasn't even paying attention. "Yeah yeah," he said while carefully picking up a delicate gold chain from the table. He held it up before his face, admiring how it twinkled in the light. "This seems kind of out of place."

Storm twisted her snout in bemusement. "You mean more out of place than the cat mug?" She gave it a quick glance, feeling unnerved how all their painted eyes seemed to followed her around.

Oryx laughed. "Ok, fair point, but still. Wonder what they use if for." He unfastened the hook and began to place it around his neck.

Storm inhaled sharply. "YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" She went to grab it from his talons but she couldn't reach over the table.

Oryx leaned away to further the distance between him and her flailing arms. "What's wrong? It's just a necklace."

"Well let's just say I have experience with putting on random pieces of jewelry to find out moments later they're enchanted. Now. Take. It. Off."

The cream-scaled dragon looked down at the golden rope around his neck. "Nothing's happened yet though. Maybe it's not enchanted."

With both fear and irritation prickling along her scales she decided to take matters into her own talons. She ducked beneath the table, pushing away the altar cloth that smacked her face, and appeared on the other side…only to find Oryx had switched sides at the same time.

Storm hissed, her large tail beginning to swing violently from side to side. "This isn't a joke! Please take this seriously and remove the necklace!"

"I _am_ being serious! We need all the help we can get against the Order, and whatever _this_ thing is," he directed his gaze to the chain, "if it _is_ enchanted, might just help is! Also, watch out for your tail. It's gonna knock something over."

Storm snorted. "Oh please, I have full control of my extremities – "

Her sentence was cut off by a _CRASH_ as her tail knocked over the strange cut cup and sent it sprawling to the floor where it shattered into thousand pieces.

The bickering dragons froze, their breath refusing to leave their lungs.

Storm was the first to escape the fearful grip. "Dung and seal guts! Quick, we have to clean this up before they notice." She jumped over the altar and began to sweep up the glass shard, accidently cutting herself.

"Careful!" Oryx urged, batting her talons away. "What's the point anyway? I mean, I know we scented someone but maybe it wasn't real? I mean, if there was _actually_ anyone here don't you think they would have noticed us be now?"

And right on cue, they were noticed.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" A disbelieving nasally voice came from the hallway. It was then followed by, "That better not be you Brother Crimson – "

Just as a black talon stepped through the doorway, Oryx grabbed Storm around the waist and pulled her beneath the altar, the silken drape hiding them from view. He put a talon to his mouth in a gesture to keep quiet.

" – I swear, if you broke my limited edition historically accurate Clearsight bust I will – oh."

The male's voice went silent as he no doubt was confused by the empty room. Talons on stone echoed around the chamber as the dragon came to investigate the shatter glass. As he got closer Storm recognized his scent as the one she had detected on the stairwell. She swallowed, feeling Oryx's wings tremble against her back.

The altar cloth unfortunately reached the floor, so Storm had only her ears to rely on. She heard him pause before altar, but not quite in front of it. The sounds of sniffing reached her ears and she stiffened, her heart thrashing in her chest. Would he smell them? Of course he would. They were literally right under his nose! She had to think fast. There was only one of him and two of them. They could easily overpower him.

She wanted to warn Oryx of her plan, but their whispering would no doubt be heard. Instead she decided to trust him to catch on. Readying her muscles she prepared herself to launch and –

"NOOOO," the mystery dragon bellowed and shook Storm to her core. "My kitten mug! Oh how terrible, how very very terrible. This simply just WON'T do. No no, it must be fixed."

Oryx and Storm exchanged warry glances as the dragon chattered to himself. Obviously this mug was so important he hadn't even noticed their scents. Not that Storm was complaining.

What followed, though, could only be described as…bizarre.

The dragon began to mutter under his breath. Nothing Storm understood but soon afterwards the sound of glass clinking together like wind chimes filled the air. The out-of-view dragon gave a huff of satisfied relief and something heavy _thunked_ on top of the altar. "There. All better," he said. "Now back to the library. I've already wasted two point thirty three minutes!" Once again the _tik tak_ sound of talon on stone was heard, but this time it became dimmer as the dragon left.

Storm dare not move a muscle until only pure silence remained. Exhaling her long-held breath she carefully lifted up the drape and peeked underneath. Nothing. He was gone, whoever he was.

Flicking her ears she shuffled out from the table with Oryx leaning against her.

"That was close," he whispered. Storm nodded, still feeling the thick vibration of her drumming heart.

"Too close."

"Do you think he'll be back?"

"Eventually, yes. We should leave now."

She began to march back to the stairwell but Oryx grabbed her arm to stop her. He let out disappointed huff. "What? We can't leave _now_! You said it yourself, what if the map is here? We have to at least check." The desperation in his eyes made her pause.

The IceWing bit her lip. All her instincts were screaming at her to leave but Oryx was right. If this was the location of the map they couldn't risk leaving and coming back later. The sooner they had it, the sooner they could save Caracal.

Storm chastised herself for being so cowardly. A _First_ Circle IceWing wouldn't hesitate risk their lives for the safety of another. She still felt the sweltering sting of guilt every time she thought of Caracal. No matter what the others said, she still held herself responsible for the dragonet's current state.

She sent a quick prayer to her ancestors to watch over the small dragoness and to make sure she was safe.

Sighing Storm relented. "Yes, you're right. We need to check." She straightened her spine and puffed out her chest, praying to the spirit of Queen Snowfox to give her a warrior's courage.

 _Besides_ , she mused to herself, _if that stranger here gives us any trouble I'm sure I could easily defeat him._

"Great!" Oryx whooped as quietly as is possible to whoop. Dramatically he flattened himself to the floor and began to slither about. "We'll need to be stealthy, and lucky for you I'm the king of stealth."

"Yeah, when you remember to be quiet," Storm quipped. Oryx stuck his forked tongue at her and scuttled towards the archway. Storm stifled a laugh and began to follow when she remembered something. While she and Oryx had been hiding beneath the altar the mystery dragon had placed something on top.

In a spur of curiosity she gave a quick glance behind her to see what it had been, but what she saw gripped her heart in a vice of fear and made her bones tremble.

Sitting atop the table, perfectly intact, was the kitten mug she had smashed.

Storm exhaled a shaky breath. _Oooookay. So maybe there's more to this stranger than I thought._

* * *

Author's note:

Hey! I'm back on the saddle for this story now! 'Bout time, eh? Anyway, hope your enjoy the chapter!


	17. Scrolls

Storm was still feeling unsettled by that cat mug as she followed Oryx through the halls. She didn't bother telling him. No need to make him alarmed.

Besides, she was beginning to doubt her own senses and wonder if maybe she had just hallucinated it all. It made a much more compelling argument than whatever she had thought she'd seen. _Yeah, that makes more sense. Just a stress induced hallucination. Nothing out o the ordinary,_ Storm unsuccessfully reasoned.

 _Well, not really,_ she admitted. _Why would I have hallucinated something –_

 _Shut up! It wasn't real! It couldn't have been! How could a mug that was broken one moment be completely fixed the next…unless…_

The realization dawned on her like a slap on the wrist.

The dragon was an animus!

By the Great Tail of the Ice Queen, what was an animus doing by himself in some underground temple? And if the Black Talons didn't know about this place, then why was there an image of the two-headed dragon on the altar? Storm frowned. The legend of Sivanka seemed to be at the center of this web, connecting all the loose strands in a way she didn't understand.

She was so far into her own mind that she nearly careened into Oryx's butt as he stopped beside a door. His chest was pressed to the floor as he peered inside, his long neck twisting around the corner like a snake. "All clear," he whispered back at her before prowling off to the next room.

Storm rolled her eyes. Oryx had the uncanny ability to both take things too seriously and not take them seriously enough. Nonetheless Storm followed, glancing over her shoulder. They were in one of the hallways that had fed into the Altar room. They had chosen the hallway opposite to the one the mysterious dragon had disappeared into, but they were quickly learning that this place was enormous.

On more than one occasion that had been led to a dead end or followed a circular path that had brought them back to their original spot.

The hallway twisted on and on with countless rooms filling the space behind the walls. Much like the IceWing temple, this place had mostly bedrooms that had been converted to storerooms, indicating this was once a place that housed many dragons. Now there seemed to be only the one…who had a strange obsession with cat-themed drinking vessels.

Shifting from her worry of getting lost, her fear of the stranger in the temple was brought back the foreground of her attention. Feeling they had put enough distance between them and the animus she hurried up to Oryx and whispered, "So what are we going to do about that dragon?"

The SandWing's snout wiggled in confusion. "Uh…nothing?"

Storm gave him a deep frown to indicate that was the wrong answer. "And what if he should find us snooping around? I don't think he'll be too please about that."

Oryx, with his naively optimistic heart, said, "I don't know, maybe he'd be happy to have the company."

"Oooor maybe he'll try to kill or capture us," Storm countered.

With copper irises shimmering in the torchlight, he turned around to face her. "What makes you think he's going to hurt us?"

Storm balked. "What makes you think he's _not_?"

Oryx stood up from his crouch, rolling his shoulders into a shrug. "He didn't _sound_ very evil when we were hiding from him. He was more concerned with his broken cup and getting back to work. I don't know, wouldn't an evil dragon sound more like 'MUHAHAHA I must find the vermin who broke my cup and KILL THEM!'"

While Oryx giggled at his own silliness Storm blinked a slow, deeply unamused, blink. Oryx seemed to find that funny and laughed again.

Storm whapped him on the snout with her tail-tip. "Let's keep going before you laugh yourself into a coma."

The younger dragon pulled himself together and followed the glowering IceWing. "Come on, don't be so serious. Besides, you can't just go barrelling into every situation and automatically assume everyone is your enemy. When you do that you ruin your chances of making a friend!"

This…actually made Storm pause. She was so used to dragons trying to capture, kill, or threaten her she'd forgotten to not consider every new dragon an enemy on sight. Even in the Ice Kingdom one had to constantly keep their guard up. Everyone was either competing against you in the rankings or just playing you for a fool to gain their own glory.

Storm couldn't remember a time where she'd entered a room of dragons and expected to emerge with friends.

Still, her instincts told her to be wary. This was an animus, and had to be treated with the upmost caution.

"Well if you're so sure he's not evil then why are you sneaking around!?"

"Because it's more fun!"

Storm's eye twitched as she withheld the urge to smack him.

"You OK? You're eye's twitching –"

"YES, I'M AWARE THANK YOU." Her voice came out louder than expected and she flung her talons over her mouth in horror. Had the stranger heard her? Once again her stupid big mouth was causing trouble.

A scuttle from behind made her heart shoot to her throat. She spun around, ice glands flexing in preparation to blast the attacker. Instead she was greeted with the quivering whiskers of a rat. It squeaked and dashed into the closest room. Storm's haunches relaxed.

She turned back to Oryx who was holding back his laughs with an impish grin. "Someone's a little tense."

Embarrassment flooded her cheeks. "Shut up," she hissed and stalked passed him. "If you had half an ounce of sense you would know to be wary too!"

He trotted after her, easily matching her huffy pace. "I _am_ wary, but I also _really_ want to find this map," he said, his tone suddenly sobering. "There's nothing wrong with playing it safe, but more often than not you're going to have to take a risk to get what you want."

Oryx's words disturbed her. Storm had spent her whole life taking the road of caution, doing as told under the promise that following the rules would lead her to greatness. And, honestly, she had been fine with that. Taking risks made you vulnerable to the uncertainty the accompanied the testing of fate.

If Storm had had it her way, her whole life would have been planned out on a nice, tidy schedule where she would always know what was coming and prepare for it. That's how her life had been before all this: a detailed calendar of which tests she would have to take to get into which Circle, how long she would stay in that Circle and what she would do to prepare for the next test while there.

Even so, hadn't following the rules led her to this crazy adventure anyway? Maybe, no matter how hard one planned, one could never truly control their destiny.

"Hold up, something's not right," Oryx's willowy whisper jumped out and he placed his tail on her chest as a motion to halt. They had stopped just outside a grand archway larger than any they had seen before along the hallway. Its frame was undecorated, yet the massive iron double-doors suggested something important within. But it wasn't this strange entrance that had caught his attention.

"Do you hear…a voice?" He asked.

Indeed she did. It was coming from behind the iron doors and matched the voice of the stranger before. With a frightened jolt she realized this whole place must loop around and they were now in the hallway where the mysterious dragon had gone. They had been walking towards him this whole time.

Yet there was another terrible implication. She didn't have the sensitive hearing of a SandWing, so to her ears only a low, muffled sound could be heard. She had no idea if it was all the same voice or multiple ones. Perhaps that 'Brother Crimson' had been here the whole time. That complicated things, especially if it came to a fight.

"We should move on. If there are two of them then I don't want to risk meeting them."

"Wait," Oryx ordered. He pressed his ear to the door, eyes roaming above him while he listened. "I think he's alone. I don't hear anyone else."

"Are you sure?" Storm asked with intensity. If it came down to a fight she needed to know how many they were up against.

"Yeah. He's just… chatting to himself."

Storm weighted her options. One dragon she could handle, and they still hadn't come close to finding anything pertaining to the map. Whatever was behind this door was definitely worth investigating… but at the risk of facing a potential enemy and getting caught.

But, as much as she hated to admit it, Oryx had been somewhat right before. There was no avoiding risk now. If the map was in there, she had to know. Caracal's life depended on it.

She took a deep breath. "I'm going to peek inside. Stay low and follow my lead."

Oryx's eyes widened but he nodded. Good. At least he was taking this seriously. She stepped forward and placed her talon on the door, feeling the texture like dragon-scale that had been etched into the metal. Holding her breath she pushed against the door with the force of a drifting snowflake and it opened slightly, releasing a grating shriek of resistance all the while. Storm cringed and froze, waiting the sounds of talons rushing her way. But nothing happened. Again she pushed the door just wide enough to stick her snout in. She did so and took a whiff. The comforting smell of paper and ink made themselves at home in her nose. Like a fish caught on a line she was pulled forward and stuck the rest of her face in to see that her suspicions were confirmed.

It was a library!

Nothing extraordinary though. It was spotless, just like every other area of this underground world, but if Storm had ever wondered how old this place was the library made it obvious. The rows and rows of tightly packed scroll shelves reminded Storm of wizened old dragons that had fallen asleep at their post. The now soft wood sagged dramatically under the weight of scrolls the size of small tree trunks, their parchment so yellowed over time they were nearly orange.

The ceiling, though, was confusing her to no end. By the height of the walls she knew it was low, yet there seemed to be nothing there. It was as if the night sky had been placed there instead, its endless void yawning up and up until it touched the heavens. The same glittering light she had seen in the temple proper hung suspended in the air like the twisting tails of swirling galaxies as they collided above.

She felt tempted to spread her wings and fly into the star-filled ocean above but held back, her will returning.

 _Stop acting like a dragonet! This is no time for fanciful thoughts!_

Oryx yanked her tail impatiently. "What do you see? Or, even better, get your _butt_ out of the way so I can take a look!"

She gave him a wack with her tail and smiled when she heard his confused squawk.

Keeping her talons off the floor Storm stalked forward as Oryx pushed himself through the door behind her. There were two rows of broken scroll shelves to either side of the entrance, perhaps placed there for repair or removal, but they also acted as great cover for the two sleuthing dragons. At her side, Oryx's ears twitched every which way.

"I still hear the voice. It's coming to the left. And it's close."

"Then we go right," she decided and the two abandoned the safety of cover to descend into the forest of scrolls.

"So what's the plan?" Oryx asked as they squeezed past the first series of rows.

"Plan?" Storm's brain seized up. Maybe she should have thought of that _before_ trapping herself in a library with a magical dragon lurking in the darkness. Her ears twitches as something fluttered past it, but she brushed it off as a stray piece of paper.

"Yeah. If the map is here we've got to figure out how to find it and not waste time. Should we figure out some system or whatever to search for it? Or find the library catalogue?"

"Yes. Those ideas sound nice."

The SandWing raised a brow at her monotone voice. "You were just going to search this place one scroll at a time, weren't you?"

"W-well that's what I did last time and it worked out fine!"

He released an exasperated snort. "And it only took you the entire night. We don't _have_ that time anymore!" The cream-scaled dragon scanned around. "Maybe we can find a schematic of the place. Let's do a quick run-through and see if we can find anything.

Storm nodded, feeling as useless as a third horn. Then again, Canyon had always been the one to make the plans since they'd met. Perhaps she was getting lazy by allowing the SkyWing to do all the thinking.

She fought the temptation to let herself miss him; to wish that he were here. She did hope that he as alright, but this was NOT the time to get all moony-eyed! She shuffled her wings as something tugged along the membrane, but the sensation was so gentle it hardly registered to her senses. "Very well. Where should we begin?"

Oryx looked left, down the narrow hallway that buffered the endless row of shelves until it vanish into darkness, and then at the identically dark and endless hallway to the right. He looked to Storm and shrugged. "I really don't think it matters."

Thus, choosing the arbitrary direction of left, they began their search.

* * *

It hadn't taken them long at all to realize this was no ordinary library.

First of all, it was much larger than they'd first assume and things…changed.

It had begun when Storm brought up the idea of marking their path so they would know which scroll shelves they had already passed to avoid getting lost. The soft wood proved easy to mark with their claws and that was that. But then the markings would vanish. Sometimes they'd go just a few steps, turn around, and already the wood had healed itself anew.

This chilling phenomenon was accompanied by the something even stranger. It had first started as a simple brush along the scales and wings, something easily explained by rubbing against a scroll or shelf. Soon it went from gentle brushes to ear-pulls and tail-yanks. The worse moment for Storm had been when she, absent-mindedly, swatted at the thing pulling on her ear and found her talon had hit something as large as a bird but smooth and squishy.

Feeling increasingly unnerved they decided, for sanity's sake, to just pretend they were really large moths…that had little sharp claws on them. Yeah. That made sense.

Whatever they were, they didn't seem to have the intention of causing harm, although Storm's scales crawled at every touch. Despite the beads of light that swirled above them, it was still too dim to see what the creatures were let alone get rid of them. For now they'd just have to deal with it.

That was, until they approached a light source. They had been so occupied with the strangeness around them they hadn't noticed the muttering getting louder. They nearly walked right in front of the reading dragon before reeling back at the last moment, ducking behind a bookshelf. Storm swore beneath her breath. Without any way to track their progress they had looped back towards the entrance. Towards the animus.

Slowly they peeked their heads around the bend. Storm had to squint as her eyes adjusted to the light which hovered over his head like a miniature sun.

Wait…

A floating ball of light? Storm did a double take. Yep. It was a floating orb of golden rays, like a moon-globe except that term wasn't accurate. It was …a sun-globe! Such an item could only have been made with the magic of enchantment. Storm's sickled claws dug into the wood of the shelf nervously.

Looking directly at it caused black spots to speckle her vision so she instead she focused on the muttering dragon that sat before it.

The light was so bright that Storm could only really see his looming silhouette. He was easily several necks taller than Storm and seemed to be struggling to contort his huge body to fit the small desk he was writing at. His back arch hard while his head hung over a scroll. Two scrolls in fact. He was apparently copying the contents of the left scroll onto the right scroll, or something like that. Either way, he was completely absorbed in his work and oblivious to the two sets of eyes watching him. It occurred to her that, maybe, like the Black Talons, this dragon could have access to numerous enchanted objects rather than being an animus himself. Either way, there was no telling what sorts of tricks he had up his snout.

Oryx nudged her shoulder to catch her attention. He slowly mouth an exaggerated 'now what?'.

Storm thought before answering. Avoiding detection was obviously the first priority, but if they didn't find the map sooner or later she would come back and check the dragon's desk for clues. For now, though, it would do them well to not get caught. She tilted her forehead to the path ahead. They would continue their search of the library. The SandWing nodded, tip-toeing past the break in the shelves that exposed them. Storm went after him but something held her back. Literally. Something small was pulling at her wings. She twisted her neck around to see a small, winged creature with talons grasping her, but this was no bird or moth. It was small enough to fit into her palm but had smooth skin that was paler than Storm's own scales. Red little eyes glittered at her while long wings silently held it aloft.

It had the shape of a dragon.

Those were the only details Storm absorbed before reacting. To her credit she didn't scream, although she did release a startled gasp, but in the end it didn't matter. Her tail instinctively flicked upwards and smacked the beast to the side while the rest of her body scrambled away from the creature as fast as it could, violently smacking into the shelf behind her. It didn't tip over, but the molding wood had decided that day that it would no longer be bothered holding itself together and, after a slight bump, loudly splintered apart, tossing the scrolls on the floor with diabolical glee.

The muttering at the desk cut to a halt. The shadow of a dragon stood up. "Who's there?" He called out, turning around.

There was no point hiding anymore. "RUN!" Oryx shouted and they shot apart in opposite directions. Storm sprinted to the right but screeched to a standstill. What was she doing? IceWings don't run. They fight!

In the narrow space between shelves she awkwardly whipped around and readied herself into a fighting stance, her teeth barred and mouth shut so she could build up her frost-breath. The dragon slowly emerged into her view, the sun-globe floating behind his head like a halo, providing enough light so that she could finally see his face.

At first glance he resembled one of those strange praying-mantis bugs Storm had seen in scrolls. He wore thick spectacles that enlarged his eyes to the size of dinner plates. His face was thin with a sharp chin but it was his scales that momentarily startled Storm. They were paler that normal, but there was no mistaking the black colour and starry glitter of his wings.

"NightWing," Storm hissed. Of course it would be a _NightWing_ lurking in this nefarious place.

The dragon lifted his glasses to squint at her then lowered them again. " _You're_ not Brother Crimson. Are you one of the new initiates I'm supposed to train?"

"No. I'm Storm, daughter of Violet and Foehn, cadet under General Shiver, and I order you to –"

"It's about time you showed up!" He scolded over her intimidating speech. "You were supposed to be here a month ago, but I'm going to assume you just got lost on the way and haven't been actively avoiding scribe duty."

Storm blinked, almost sputtering out something undignified but luckily she got a hold of her wits. "What? No! I'm not here to be a scribe!" She lowered her ears back and growled as a display of aggression, but the NightWing hardly reacted. At that point Storm was beginning to wonder if he could even see her at all. The large glasses he wore seemed more for reading than anything else. Was he even able to tell she was an IceWing? Their tribes were sworn enemies. He should be attacking her!

"Oh?" His voice sprung up in surprise before he gave an indignant snort. "Then stop wasting my time!" He turned around and plunked himself down at his desk, immediately returning to his writing.

Storm gaped, her mouth opening and closing. She stood there for several seconds, still in a fighting stance, before snapping out of her stupor. "Hey, wait a minute! Don't you walk away from me!"

As she marched after him the timid and confused face of Oryx emerged from the darkness. "Sooooo, he's not going to kill us?"

A withered scoff like a honking goose came out of the NightWing. "Don't be stupid. I'm a _scribe;_ I have about as much murderous intent in me as a turnip."

Oryx's upper lip curled. "Turnips _are_ kind of evil though. When the SandWings were still in that fort back in the Ice Kingdom the only vegetable we could eat were turnips. Turnips day in and day out, now I'm sick of them!"

"You should have put them in a stew," the NightWing said as if they were merely neighbours stopping by for a visit and not two dragons that had just emerged from his library uninvited.

Storm ignored the weird vegetable conversation and approached the desk with the cautious talons of one approaching a sleeping monster, taking care to avoid the miniature sun at his shoulders. Now that her mind wasn't racing she took in more of his details. Like his face, his body was equally as thin. Storm wouldn't say he was malnourished but his brittle limbs looked as strong as straw. It was obvious he didn't take proper care of himself. The skin around his eyes looked wrinkled and dehydrated, his scales grew in jagged patterns rather than neatly one over the other and he…smelled. When was the last time he had bathed? Or eaten? Or left the library?

She inhaled sharply at the sight of the pendant he wore around his neck. It was golden disk but it held a design made of silver, revealing the two-headed dragon symbol. Here it was again, like a trail of breadcrumbs leading her towards something greater. She pushed those thoughts aside and focused on the NightWing.

Storm tested the waters. She needed to know if he was a threat. "So it doesn't bother you that two strangers were able to sneak in here? Aren't you worried we'll harm you?"

He didn't look up from his scroll. " _Are_ you going to harm me?"

"Of course not!" Oryx blurted out and Storm shot him a quieting look. The NightWing was indifferent.

"So long as you leave me and my library intact then we have no quarrel. Now, if you please, I have work to finish." During the entire conversation his talons had never once stopped their path over the parchment but, finally, they came to a halt. He blew on the wet ink to dry it before rolling the scroll up with a satisfied sigh. He picked up a small brass bell on his desk and gave it a shake.

Storm stepped back as two creatures emerged from beneath his desk. They looked just like the one she had swatted away; their lithe forms crawled around on the desk with excited chirps. Now that she had the chance to see them in the light Storm strained her neck forward to inspect one as it sat at the edge of the desk in front of her.

It _was_ a small dragon, although only in shape. They didn't seem to be designed to take after a specific tribe, but they had long necks with pointed little heads reminiscent of a SkyWing, although only nubs were present where they horns were supposed to be. There were no scales, only a translucent white skin that allowed Storm to see within the body where a skeleton of copper wire would sometimes flicker in the light. Its wings were made of silken sheets of vibrant orange wrapped around the same wiring.

The creatures picked up the scrolls on the desk. They stumbled a bit with the massive load in their tiny claws but managed to flutter away into the darkness of the shelves. Too intrigued to speak, Storm waited in silence until, after only a few moments, the creatures returned with another scroll and dropped it in front of the NightWing. Quickly he opened it, took out a fresh scroll of parchment from a drawer, and began the cycle anew.

In rapt awe Storm watched the little dragons curl up beside each other on the desk like cats. "What are those beasts?" She breathed; wonder bringing her closer than she dared to before. Oryx was braver. He approached the small dragons and held out a talon to coax them closer. One swatted at him and gave an adorably squeaky roar.

"They're so cuuuuute!" Oryx squealed, ignoring their small angry hissing.

Disgust turned to intrigue turned to fondness as Storm watched the tiny dragons and their tiny antics. An IceWing would never use the word 'cute' buuuut, she had to admit that Oryx was right. They were pretty cute.

"They're called homunculi," The NightWing spoke, dipping his talon into some ink. "I used wax to sculpt their bodies around some wire and enchanted them to life. They help me with my work and keeping the temple clean. They seem to get a kick out of pulling on ears and tails so I hope they haven't been bothering you."

"You enchanted them?" Oryx gasped in astonishment. "You're an animus! Storm, he's an animus!" Storm nodded, trying to look surprised. She felt a little bad that she hadn't mention that little fact to Oryx, but then again, they had been kind of busy trying not to get lost but then getting lost anyway. "I mean, it was kinda obvious, though," Oryx continued. "Not many dragons have floating energy balls around their heads."

However, much to their befuddlement, the NightWing scoffed and shook his head. "Fah! Don't be absurd. I'm no animus."

Storm could only stare at him, wondering if he had lost his mind down here or was simply messing with them. "Huh?" She uttered, her face skewed in a dumfounded expression that wasn't very IceWing.

"Yeaaah, we weren't hatched yesterday. You said you _enchanted_ them and only an animus can enchant things." Oryx's brow furrowed, no doubt wondering why this dragon was lying right to their faces.

"Well I see your imaginations are as limited as your minds because that's where you'd be wrong." He rolled his parchment up by several inches to a clean section and began filling in the empty space with words. "Animus magic is not the only magic that exists in this world."

He spoke as if simply describing the weather and not explaining a reality-shifting fact.

"Wha – that's impossible!" Storm declared. Did this puny dragon believe she could be fooled so easily?

The NightWing sighed and actually looked up at them, removing his glasses to observe the two young dragons with glistening eyes that were the shade of an evergreen.

"Are you familiar with the IceWing legend of Sivanka?" he asked, although it was evidently directed more towards Storm. The IceWing jolted at the sudden question that was laden with layers of meaning.

"I – yes. Of course I do. All IceWings do."

"Then tell me, how did Sivanka get her animus powers to begin with?"

Storm was more than insulted that this _NightWing_ was testing her on her own Tribe's culture. Still, she was curious as to where he was going with this. "She was given them by the Moon Queens."

"Yes, that's true…in the _later_ versions of the story." He peered down at them over his glasses and Storm finally understood why NightWings were so often called snobby know-at-alls. "In the _original_ version, Sivanka learned this magic from the Moon Spirits in much the same way she was taught everything else. It wasn't a divine gift, but a skill learned through hard work and study. Something anyone could learn."

"So…that's how you got this magic. You learned it," Oryx supplied in her silence.

The non-animus bobbed his head, pleased that someone was answering. "Yes. Correct."

Storm's brow furrowed. A type of magic that could be _learned_? How could that be? Of all the histories of Pyrrhia, of her Tribe, the only magic that existed came from animus dragons. How could a dragon not born with these abilities just obtain them through study? It was absurd!

It didn't make any sense…did it? It made Storm wonder.

Where did the source of animus power come from anyway? Was there some swell of energy inside their souls that could be drawn out and used to shift the world? Maybe normal dragons had something else inside them that they could use as well; something weaker that had to be trained like a muscle.

Slowly, like the trickle of snowmelt during the arctic springs, an idea was taking shape. Despite the summersaults her mind was doing at the idea of multiple types of magic, she was also grappling with something else. This strange dragon hadn't brought up the legend of Sivanka coincidentally. Her two headed silhouette was on his altar and on the pendant he wore.

No matter what, all paths seemed to be going in the same direction and they all pointed to back to the legend. But what did it mean?

Storm felt a tremble run along her spine. Sivanka had been a great teacher and philosopher. If what this dragon said was true, and the great Sivanka _did_ learn a type of magic that could be taught to others, then that would mean…

"And how is Sivanka tied to all this?" Storm loudly asked, catching the black dragon's attention. That question had been nagging at her for a while now. Perhaps she would finally get an answer. "I saw her image all over this temple, and – " she paused, lowering her voice, " – and ever since this journey began she has been constantly appearing. What does it mean? What does _that_ ," she pointed at his pendant, "signify?"

The NightWing gave an eerie smile as if he had been waiting for that question. "Legends and myths balance delicately on that shadowy line between fiction and fact. Sometimes they seem too fantastical to be real, but other times we can see the deep truths in them that still touch us today." He clasped his talons together, brows lowering. "But know this: Sivanka was more than just a myth. She was real."

Storm's eyes widened and her mouth opened partially as a breath of shock escaped. Quickly she shook herself, trying to collect her thoughts that scattered from her like marbles on an uneven table. "Y – you're mad!" She exclaimed, though she only said it to give her mouth something to do besides hang open.

"Probably, but I speak the truth," the NightWing said. "Here, look at this." Carefully he picked up the ancient scroll that he was translating from. Even with the barest of brushes the paper still flaked. Hesitantly Storm took the item in her own talons, but shook her head in confusion. It was written in the same strange language she had seen before.

"I can't read this. What am I supposed to look at?"

"It's not about what is says, but rather who said it. This text was written by Sivanka herself." He swished his tail to motion towards the rest of the library. "This whole place is filled with her works."

Storm's whole world began to tilt. Was this _true_? Was she actually holding something touched by a living legend!

The rational part of her brain told her to be doubtful, to not trust the word of a stranger let alone a NightWing, but those warnings fell on deft ears. Her entire being had already been swallowed by the excitement and wonder of it all.

She was holding an actual relic! Her talons began to tremble but she tried to hold them steady. This thing was so brittle it would probably disintegrate.

"And that, young IceWing, is why I, along with others of my Order, wear these pendants." He hooked his claw on the chain and held the shiny disk up. "Our aim is to keep the teachings of Sivanka alive. All those who are able to find us, no matter their tribe, can become initiates and gain access to this knowledge…and power."

Oryx came to stand by her side and peered at the scroll, skepticism etching itself into each of his features. "But…that's impossible. Storm, that legend you told me, that took place WAY before the Scorching. That would have to make these scrolls mega ancient. Like, so-ancient-it-shouldn't-even-still-exist. They should have rotted long ago."

The older male hummed. "Hmm, yes. It is looking rather ratty looking, isn't it? As scribe it's my duty to keep the collection in good condition. Here, this should only take a moment."

Storm watched, mesmerized, as the old dragon hovered his claws above the scroll and began to utter strange words. She watched his mouth, trying to figure out what he was saying, but it was impossible. None of the words made sense to her – but she could _feel_ them. Each syllable held a burst of power in it that made the air shimmer and sway.

"Storm! You're talons!" Oryx's cry grabbed her attention and she finally looked down to see the scroll, and her talons, engulfed in a deep, purple blaze. Instinctively she released the burning object and it fell to the floor, but by the time it hit the stone the fire was gone and the scroll…was pristine. The parchment was white as her scales, the ink vivid, and the wooden roller looked like it had just been carved and freshly varnished.

The scribe picked up the scroll and dusted it off. "There, good as new…well, except for the scuff marks," he shot Storm a withering glance, "but otherwise good as new."

Storm's heart was hammering beneath her ribs. She held out her palms to look for any injuries. Not a burn mark in sight. No pain either. Oryx was checking her over too, gently grasping her talons and turning them over. Eventually he came to the same realization as she did. Slowly he lifted his head and their eyes met. Fear, confusion and curiosity zapped between them.

 _What…what just happened?_

Storm looked to the NightWing, then to the scroll on the table, then to Oryx, and back to the NightWing. She narrowed her eyes. "Who _are_ you? And what is this Order you speak of?"

The scribe sighed. "I was wondering if you were ever going to ask my name. It's Brother Wordweaver, although for you _uninitiated_ folk, just Wordweaver is fine. As for my Order –" he paused, pulling a cloth from a drawer to clean his glasses with, "we are a continuation of the one first established by Sivanka at the height of her power. We've gone by many names but there is one that seems to persist." He returned his glasses to his face, his expression thoughtful.

"We are called the Order of the Golden Dawn, and we've been wondering when you'd find us."


	18. Statues

"There's _more_ than one Order?" A tremble passed over Storm, stretching from her snout to the tip of her tail. Questions pooled in her mind like rainwater in an already overflowing bin.

The NightWing Wordweaver, having temporarily forgotten they were there, looked back up from his work. "Hmm? Oh, yes. There are many Orders. Some are still around but most of the time they can't keep themselves organized enough to stick. That's what happened to Jerboa's Order after she left. Whole thing fell apart."

At the mention of the ancient SandWing animus Storm stiffened. Next to her Oryx's squirmed and glanced her way. She returned is look with a warning glare. They had to be smart about this. If Jerboa's map was within these walls they had to know, but they couldn't be too obvious about it. As non-violent as this sorcerer seemed, Storm wasn't going to test her luck. If he knew what they were after, he might not be so willing to part with it.

She would try to approach the topic from the side, but for now she had other questions. "And…what did you mean when you said you've been waiting for us?" The thought that they had been expected made her uneasy. "How did you know we were coming?" Then Storm thought of something. "Are you…able to tell the future?"

In the excitement of the moment she had forgotten all she knew of NightWings. Had he been reading their minds this whole time as well? No, he couldn't have. Otherwise he would have known they were there long before they stumbled upon him. That didn't mean he wasn't a prophet, though.

Wordweaver sighed and began to put away the ink and paper on his desk, resigning to the fact he wasn't going to get any more work done that day. The two sleeping homunculi squawked at the disturbance.

"No. I can't read the future, and frankly I wouldn't want to. I have enough things on my mind." He shook his head. "No. But I will tell you this: there are other ways to pick apart the strands of fate."

"Really? How?" Oryx leaned forward, practically falling over his talons. The NightWing's grating scoff pushed him back.

"Only the _initiated_ have access to that knowledge, boy. You're going to have to undergo the same entrance rituals as everyone else if you want to get your talons on that wisdom."

Storm's tail twitched with interest. "Entrance rituals? What are those?"

Wordweaver stared at her with his huge, watery eyes, her reflection perfectly captured in the bulging orbs. "That is also forbidden knowledge. Only after you – " His words broke apart as a fit of violent coughs shook the dust from his scales. Storm grimaced and hoped his reaction was just from years of sitting in a moldy library and not contagious. Once finished he took in a deep breath and pinched the flesh between his eyes where his glasses usually sat, his voice steely. "Look, I'm a _scribe_. Handling applications isn't my department. If you want to know more then you'll have to talk to the higher-ups for that."

Something of a growl of disgust came from Oryx. "This is stupid! How is anyone supposed to join this group if you can't even tell us anything about what we have to do to join? How does a _secret_ society even get new members?"

Storm almost felt the need to remind him to keep his calm, but she had to admit he had a fair point. This sort of group didn't seem the type to hold meet and greets or luncheons for prospective applicants.

"That's enough talk!" the thin dragon suddenly snapped; the sullen, dreary cloud over his shoulders jumped off him only to settle back down a moment later. "I've already blabbed too much." He paused, studying them with the same twitching eyes that sculpted precariously through his scrolls. "And you've yet to tell me who _you_ are. How did you come upon this place?"

Weak excuses fumbled around in Storm's head like drunken kittens and her breathing picked up. Should she tell the truth? Or part of it? It had been an honest accident finding the place, although the reason they had decided to snoop around wasn't entirely innocent. "We – we were just – well – um – " With each mumbled word Storm felt more and more like a useless dragonet, which only worked to worsen her embarrassment. She had never been good at lying on the spot, or lying in general.

"Well is pretty hard to ignore a giant head sticking out of the ground!" This indignant claim came from Oryx who took a step towards Storm. "And our names are Oryx and Storm. We just got lost, that's all."

The NightWing cocked a brow. "Fah! No one just _accidently_ finds these places. They have protection enchantments layered all around them."

Oryx's muzzle wrinkled. "Are you sure about that? Because we literally just walked right in."

" _Yes_ , I'm sure. I made the enchantments myself! Only those indenting to become initiates and those with the minds and spirits strong enough to understand the complexities of the universe and its magic can find this place. Although," at this his gaze became distant, "that had been some years ago. Maybe I should renew it."

Storm snorted. "What makes you think the spell didn't work. Maybe we were meant to find this place. Perhaps we have the mental and spiritual strength you spoke of."

Wordweaver narrowed his eyes, looked the two over, then burst into a fit of laughter that was more coughing than laughing. Storm's jaw clenched and she felt a deep urge to smack the glasses from his over-grown nose.

Wiping tears from his eyes the NightWing stood, his massive hulk overshadowing Storm's annoyance. "You are most amusing, but no. I would be able to tell. Now I think you've wasted enough of my time. I appreciate you stopping by, it does me good to socialize every decade or so, but now I tire. Show yourselves out."

Storm was more than put off at the abrupt dismissal. Even in the Ice Kingdom there were certain social expectations of cordial politeness to upkeep.

Then again, he _was_ a NightWing.

But they couldn't leave just yet. They had to know if Jerboa's map was here. Storm pondered what to do. She didn't want to annoy this powerful dragon, but she knew he was the quickest source of information unless she wanted to wonder through these shifting shelves for days.

How could she get him to talk more? What topic would be impossible for him to resist?

Surrounded by stacks upon stacks of scrolls Storm found her answer. She knew what to do.

Puffing out her chest, Storm channeled the inner dragonet enthusiasm that had been knocking at the walls inside her head since she'd entered the library.

"Leave? But we can't leave yet!" she insisted. Oryx gave her a side-length gaze but remained silent. Wordweaver chewed on his lip.

"Actually, yes you can, and yes you _should_." His accentuation of the last word made Storm's bravado falter but she picked it back up and gave it a stern shaking.

"But this has to be the most incredible library I've ever seen!" She gazed in wonder around the room. She added a bit of an overdramatic flourish to her longing face, hoping it wasn't too obvious. From the corner of her eye she saw Oryx hide a snort but Wordweaver looked intrigued.

"You like to read, too?"

Storm nodded. Even though she was doing things a bit more dramatically, at least she didn't have to lie to have this conversation. "Yes, actually," she responded to his airs of disbelief. "I've read the Epic of Queen Sitka, all five volumes, as well as the Ten Hymns of the Wolf and Hawk. I've even read some of Queen Coral's translated works."

After listing of her impressive repertoire Storm found herself looking at the still unimpressed face of the NightWing. "So… essentially you haven't read much outside the Ice Kingdom's approved scroll-list. Hmm. Figures," he said, in tones of condescension. "Have you read the ballads of Fallstreak the Brave? Or the Legends of Seagull the sailor? What of the collection of poems by the great MudWing author Fen of Deepvalley? Are you familiar with any of these?"

The NightWing took her silence as an accurate 'no' and rolled his enormous eyes. It was like watching a black moon summersault in a white sky. "Of course you haven't."

"I – well – wait a minute!" Insult spiked in Storm's throat and she stood, her extra horns bristling. Who did this NightWing think he was? "I have read all the classic literature of my Tribe. It's not MY fault we were in the midst of war and had limited access to other Tribe's works." A moment later she felt Oryx brush his wings against hers. His tight lipped warning gave her enough sense to sit back down. She cleared her throat, suddenly becoming painfully aware of her flush cheeks. "But…I was hoping to change that. This library is huge. I can only imagine the one-of-a-kind scrolls you must have. I'd love the chance to look at them."

Sensible and well-deserved doubt weighed down his mature features, but intrigue studded his irises. His brow lowered but his face brightened, looking years younger. "Really? Well…what sorts of things might you be interested in?"

"I'm interested in everything!" Storm responded smartly before remembering their purpose. "But, I have to ask, do you have any, oh, I don't know, maps?"

" _Maps_?" He spoke the work like it was bitter.

"Yes…ancient ones. Dating back to sometime before the Scorching. Have any of those?" Storm tried to sound as natural as possible while intently focusing on her tail to keep it from twitching nervously. It was normal to ask for ancient maps, right?

Apparently Wordweaver thought so, for he gave a simple nod. "We only have one here in _this_ library. I've been working on repairing it actually, it's in awful shape. Would you like to see it? You can't touch it or anything but you could look at it."

Storm tensed but hid her anxiety behind a thick mask of interest. "Yes! I – erm – _we_ would love to. Right Oryx?"

The SandWing hybrid jumped to attention. "Oh yes. For sure. There's nothing I love more than maps. Do these maps have pictures and stuff?"

The NightWing's face became wrinkled lines of confusion. "Well, yes. Generally all maps are pictures."

"Excellent. Excellent," Oryx chirped, trying to match the sorcerer's nasally wheezes. "Then lead the way, good sir! If there are maps about then I desire to observe them!"

Wordweaver glanced warily at Oryx, as if not remembering if this was how the dragon had spoken before or not. He looked to Storm who quickly hid her cracking grin. "Very well. Follow me."

After plenty of groaning from both the chair and his bones, the sorcerer rose to his lanky feet. His long toes dragged on the floor and Storm couldn't decide if it was because they were too large of if the dragons just couldn't be bothered to waste the energy to lift his feet higher. He took them through the rows of shelves and Storm fell in beside Oryx. It was comforting feeling his warmth nearby, surprisingly, but she didn't want to let on how fearful she was.

Wordweaver had said it was the only map in the library…what if it wasn't the one they were looking for? What then? They'd be right back to square one, with no leads and no direction, and they had already wasted a day exploring this underground world.

And what of the others? Were they still searching for them, or had they counted their losses and moved on? Worry stirred in the walls of her stomach, then she remembered Canyon and her nerves soothed. He wouldn't leave them behind. Storm was surprised at the faith and trust she had in the SkyWing. She doubted Lotus would leave them behind either but the MudWing was still something of a mystery to her.

Ember, though, was probably urging them forward.

A jab in the ribs from Oryx brought her thoughts to an end. She went to hiss at him, but the sound stopped in her throat as she looked around. They had approached some sort of clearing in the center of the library nearly ten meters wide. The rows of shelves radiated from this circular space like a pinwheel, and in the middle of it all was a pedestal of granite chiselled and smooth to look like an open palm.

"Here it is," said Wordweaver in monotone, stopping before the pedestal where a dark brown cylindrical item rested. Storm had to circle the pedestal several times before she recognized the object to be a scroll, its parchment aged even past the yellowing stage to become muddy. It was terribly small, smaller even than Storm's forearm.

Oryx wrinkled his muzzle in disappointed confusion. "That's it?"

"That's it," Wordweaver confirmed, ignoring the youngster's tone. "It dates back to before the Scorching, as you requested. I've been trying to repair it, but, you know how moody enchanted objects can get." He furrowed his brow. "Or I guess you don't. I keep forgetting your uninitiated."

Storm completely ignored the dragon's ramblings, although her ears did snag on one word: enchanted.

This map was enchanted and was older than the Scorching. So far it was hitting all the check-points. But was it the right one? Storm reached out to inspect it but had her talons smacked aside.

"Don't touch it!" the NightWing bellowed over her snarl. "Were you not listening? This thing is ancient. I don't want your grubby talons all over it."

"Grubby!" Storm squawked, outraged. "How dare you! I have _impeccable_ hygiene and – oh." She shut her lips tight while she looked down at the thick dirt layer that coated her talons and scales. Apparently her bath in the river hadn't given her any prolonged cleanliness. She wiped them along the ragged cloth of her satchel. "So who made this map?" she inquired as nonchalantly as possible.

"Hmm? Oh, it was created by none other than the great animus – "

A clatter back around his desk cut him off, followed by tiny roars of anger. Wordweaver groaned gutturally. "Seems the homunculi are having a bit of a spat again. This will only take a moment." He made to leave, then swiftly turned around one last time. "And while I'm gone, do NOT touch the scroll. It's more valuable than both your lives combined." With that cheery farewell he departed to settle some miniature dispute. Before his was even fully turned around Storm was already thinking how she would get the map.

 _He didn't tell us who made it, but at this point it's the closest thing we have. Maybe I can convince him to let me take it…somehow._ No matter how hard her mind twisted and cranked, she couldn't think of a single convincing argument that she could tell Wordweaver. She had nothing to barter with. Nothing to offer.

Swath with despair she turned to Oryx and nearly hollered in shock. The young dragon had clambered atop the pedestal and was currently sticking the priceless relic into his own bag.

"What are you doing!?" Storm hissed, glancing fearfully back towards the desk where the bare outline of Wordweaver glowed in the candlelight. She rushed to Oryx as he climbed down, grunting slightly when he grabbed her horns to steady his decent from the pedestal.

"I had no choice," he whispered back. "This is probably the only opportunity we're going to get! Maybe this is the right map, maybe it isn't, but I'm not taking the chance."

"But _stealing_? Really? Have we become no better than Fang and Ember?"

Oryx looked her square in the face, his copper irises spitting sparks. "I'll do whatever it takes to get Caracal back."

His voice was heavy, stiff, and cold, like a corpse left out in a blizzard. It stunned Storm silent, but a heartbeat later he's expression lifted back to its youthful vigor. He nudged her shoulder playfully. "Besides, Ember and Fang aren't _that_ bad. They're helping us, right? That has to count for something."

"I suppose," Storm agreed, uncomfortable. She still didn't condone what they did, or what Oryx was going right now for that matter. She had grown up in a law-abiding household, the Ice Kingdom hierarchy didn't treat their criminals very well, so everyone had the good sense to not break the law. Storm had always considered criminals to be brutes, dragons just trying to create chaos from order, but, maybe like Oryx, they had a good reason to do what they did.

"He's still distracted over there," Oryx's voice weaved between her thoughts, his gaze fixed on the moving shadow that was Wordweaver. "Do you think he's forgotten about us?" he half-joked.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Either that or he's purposefully ignoring us."

Oryx looked to Storm, then to the NightWing, then to the direction of the main entrance , and then back to Storm, his pupils quivering with some mental calculation. "I say we make a run for it. We have the map and I don't know if he even cares we're here. We could slip out of here no problem."

Storm silently nodded, although something twitched in her stomach. It seemed too easy. Sure, Wordweaver didn't much care for socializing and probably wouldn't lift a talon if either of them was in mortal danger. But he _did_ love his scrolls, so it rubbed Storm strange that he would just leave two strangers beside one of his most valued items and just leave. Surely he would know if they took it. Was is some sort of test?

Maybe she was overthinking things. Maybe they _could_ just walk out of here unnoticed. It was worth a shot.

"Fine, but at least let me distract him a little bit," said Storm. Oryx shrugged but didn't voice any objections. In the silence of the library they drew their heads together and worked out the details of this epic escape.

* * *

The plan was simple: Storm would just speak to Wordweaver for a moment or so, saying they had to leave and thank him for his hospitality while Oryx would sneak around the desk, skirting around the outside of the numerous rows and stacks of scrolls. There was no need risking that magically shifting maze again, better to avoid it altogether.

Heart pounding in her throat, Storm approached the desk where the sorcerer was sitting, once again hunched over some scrolls and mumbling to himself. The homunculi were gone, probably off doing some other chore, or maybe he had put them on time out. Storm shook her head. Now was not the time for her mind to wander. She approached the desk and spoke loudly.

"Thank you for all your help today, this visit was very….informative." Storm tried to at least make her compliment honest. He certainly hadn't been welcoming but at least he had shared his knowledge. "But, I should really be going now. You must have lots of work to do and I don't want to waste any more of your time."

He glanced up and frowned, his glistening eyes darting this way and that. "Wasn't there another one of you?" He seemed genuinely confused. Then, behind him, where the candlelight didn't reach, a cream coloured body slinked passed. Storm forced herself not to look, instead focusing on the NightWing.

Her mouth felt dry as she forced her tongue to form the necessary lies. "Uh, yes. He already left though…he has a hard time being underground. Claustrophobia and all."

Wordweaver worked his jaw as if chewing over her words. "I see. Well, can't say I'm sorry to see you go. I've already fallen behind. I'm hoping I can trust you to show yourself out?"

Storm swelled with relief, causing her response to sound a little more enthusiastic than intended. "Of course! Yes, thank you!" They were going to escape with the map! It was working!

Wordweaver didn't reply. He bowed his head over the parchment again, the candlelight filling his glasses so that Storm couldn't see the dangerous glint of his eyes beneath. She quickly turned around, walking as casually as possible towards the library's main entrance. _Almost there. Don't do anything suspicious. Just walk like you're a normal dragon leaving an ancient forbidden library. Nothing weird going on at all._ She had never committed a crime before. Was she doing it right? Although she would never admit it to another living soul, Storm couldn't deny it was rather exhilarating if she ignored the choking scarf of anxiety that was strangling her.

Staying at the edge of the library proved less confusing and tricky than going right through it, so she managed to find the exit quickly. Oryx was sitting outside the doors, waiting for her. They silently nodded to each other, they could talk about their daring escape when they were safe. They retraced their talons-steps back down the winding hallways that held shadows at every turn, finally finding their way back to the large tapestried room that housed the altar before ascending up the stairs that hummed with glittering light of a magical nature.

 _Almost there almost there almost there,_ Storm chanted in her head to keep her pace natural. She had to keep nudging Oryx, reminding the eager dragon to not bolt for the sunlight. Even as she was keeping Oryx in line, she had to bite her tongue to hold back a cry of joy when the opening came into view.

 _Just a few more steps! Moons, I guess being a criminal is easier than I thought._

Storm waited until soft clumps of soil filled the space between her claws before letting out her breath. They had done it. Never had she thought she would be so happy to see dirt and sand! Oryx was a little more enthusiastic. He flopped on the ground, dust clouds hovering above as he rolled this way and that.

"Oh dirt, how I missed thee." He turned his face skyward towards the angled beams of setting-sunlight. "And sun! I doth promise to never leave thy side again!"

Storm wrinkled her snout. "If you're done being crazy, we should leave." She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure they weren't followed. The sooner they left the better. "Besides, Canyon and Lotus must be worried."

Against her wishes her pulse quickened at the thought of seeing Canyon again.

"And Ember and Fang!" Oryx added. Storm grimaced but said nothing. It wasn't so much that she hated the tomb raiders (she preferred the term 'strongly dislike' better), but she knew better than to put her faith in them. Oryx was still so trusting and impressionable. She could see how he idolized Fang in some ways, which made what she was about to say that much more difficult.

"Oryx, when we get back, I'd prefer if you didn't tell Fang and Ember that you have the map. Just Lotus and Canyon." She looked to the bag around his chest, wincing at the dirt squished into it from his frolicking. Hopefully the map hadn't been damaged.

Oryx blinked at her with wide, stumbling eyes. "But why?"

She hated to break his trust in the world, but perhaps it was better he learn now before his innocence backfired. "Oryx, I know you trust them but – " her sentence dropped as something stirred behind Oryx.

"But what?" he asked, then whipped around to see what she was looking at. It was one of the statues. Storm had seen it on the way through, but something was off. Had it moved?

The younger dragonet's mouth curled liked smoke. "Oh? Afraid of some statues now are we?"

Storm puffed out her cheeks indignantly. "NO! I just think it's _important_ to be aware of one's surroundings as," she paused as a twig cracked to her left. Her eyes darted towards the sound, expecting to see a bird fluttering off or some other furry creature, but was unsettled to find another of the statues, it's gnarled mouth forever snarling, "as you always want to be prepared for unexpected attacks," she retorted with growing uncertainty. "Hadn't that statue been facing the other direction?" In fact, she was certain they had all been facing outwards from the temple entrance.

Oryx puckered his lips thoughtfully before sauntering over to stand before the stone dragon, waving his talon in front of its face. "Helloooooo?" he sang, "Anyone in there? If you could stop freaking out my friend I'd appreciate it, thanks."

Storm's jaw clenched. "Oryx, don't! Something's not right here. Let's just go." Try as she might to hide the panic in her voice, some must have slipped out because Oryx didn't say anything cheeky for once.

"Alright, alright. If you say so. I'm sick of being underground anyway. I just want to get back to the nice, warm, sandy – ACK!"

Like a spring-loaded vice the statue's talons snapped around Oryx's neck in a collar. Instinctively his claw shot to his throat to grasp whatever was choking him, his panicked eyes rolling wildly in their sockets.

Storm gasped, her body refusing to react. Her training in the IceWing Academy hadn't prepared her for this! Surviving in a snowstorm? Yes. Defending against SkyWing fire? Check. Attacks from animated statues? Not so much.

Oryx gave another desperate gurgle and Storm's body finally responded, although not in a very helpful way. She burrowed her claws into the sandstone arm and began to pull as if it were a normal dragon with normal arms.

"No – time," Oryx strained to speak. He pointed to something behind her. When she turned to look she saw the other statue was drawing nearer and more were coming as well. At first their movements were a mere crawl, then, like a beast warming up its limbs after a long nap, they were picking up speed; their motions becoming as quick and nimble as any live dragon, brushing away the undergrowth with a killer's finesse. What was going on? How was this even possible?

At that point something soft and smooth smacked Storm in the face. She opened to mouth to snap at Oryx, scolding him for messing around at a time like this, but held her words as she realized it was the ancient map.

"Take it. No time. Go," he whispered. The statues were gaining speed but they were still a little stiff. She could escape if she tried.

To even her own surprise, Storm felt her head shake in denial. "No. I'm not leaving you!" Again she tried at the statues talons around his neck, fighting until several of her claws chipped. Soon enough cold, biting talons latched onto her wings. They pulled her away and picked her off the ground before wrapping around her chest.

"Let me go!" She swivelled her head around to bite while giving out a few free punches, but her only reward were a few broken teeth and bloody knuckles. With their targets captures the statues seemed to return to their standstill position as if waiting for orders. Then, a voice, just as disinterested and dry as it had been down in the library, came from the mouth in the wall.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

* * *

Author's note:

Hey everybody! Now that Healed is finished this story is my top priority! Also, to the guest Kim Jang, I answered your question down in the review section! Essentially you can incorporate Storm into your story if you'd like, just make sure to give me credit for the character :)


	19. The Light in the Tunnel

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

On legs too old to be putting up with this nonsense, Wordweaver, breathing hard, emerged into the sunlight, his black scales swallowing the rays in greedy gulps. He took a few steps but had to lean against a statue while gripping his side. "Whew – sorry – can't climb these stairs like I used to," he panted.

"Oh, no worries, take your time," Storm hissed with as much layers of spite and vehemence she could muster. Her body struggled against the iron grip of the statue but it was useless. She could only watch as Wordweaver continued his graceless saunter towards them.

"Anyway, you didn't think me so dull that I wouldn't notice what you were up to? These scrolls are my life, also I'm an immensely powerful sorcerer. Really, if you'd had used an ounce of sense we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." He stood before Storm and pried that map from her talons, holding it to his chest as a father would a new-hatched.

"Poor thing, look at you! All wrinkled and dented. Daddy promises to never let you out of his sight again." He caressed the parchment lovingly. Despite the heart-pounding danger they were in, Storm had to force herself to not gag. Oryx seemed to be close to laughing, although his new statue necklace was probably preventing him.

"So you have your map back. Let us go," Storm ordered, not wanting to spend one more minute stuck with this lawn ornament. Her stomach lurched when Wordweaver looked at them mournfully.

"Brother Crimson was right. Maybe I am getting to soft." He sighed. "No, I'm afraid I can't let you leave."

"I – beg your pardon?" Fear crept its way down her throat. It nearly choked her words away. "Why not?"

The NightWing adjusted his glasses, the deep eyes beneath reminded Storm of sinkholes. "This place is supposed to be _secret_ , only the initiated or those intending to join our society should be able to find it. A few years ago a young MudWing found this place. She was like you: curious. I let her leave because she seemed eager to join the Order, although I suspect she didn't." His ears twitched along with the scowl that appeared on his face. "Now she's probably out there giving the location away. Is that how you came to find this place, hmm? Did she tell you?"

Storm hardly knew what he meant by this MudWing and she hardly had the time to think about it. "I assure you we found this place completely by accident. On the souls of my ancestors I swear this!" It was the truth, although she omitted the fact that they had still been searching for it. It had been dumb luck that they had actually found the place.

Wordweaver's unconvinced frown wavered for a moment before resettling in the folds of his mouth. "Sorry. I cannot take that chance again. But don't worry, it will be painless. As the stone spreads it'll feel like numbing ice."

Storm flinched. "Stone? What – what do you mean?"

Wordweaver glowered at her, one last disappointed look that she hadn't figured it out. "You certainly aren't the first dragons I had to kill to protect this place. Unlike my fellows, I prefer a cleaner way of execution. My previous victims are the ones holding you right now."

Terror bit into her chest with teeth just as painful as any dagger. She shifted her head around to stare at the statue holding her. She still couldn't tell what tribe it was from, those details had chipped away, but she now understood that snarl on its face wasn't an artistic decision. It had been the last fighting act of a dying dragon.

Oryx released a startled yelp at the news, his gaze darting around to the many statues the dappled the terrain. A bitter chill colder than any ice flooded Storm's bones. Like a panicked animal she thrashed against her restraints but this had no effect on Wordweaver as he stood before the trembling Oryx.

"Let's start with you."

"No! Don't you DARE HURT HIM!" Storm's screeches went ignored. Wordweaver was already beginning his incantations. Sizzling light and fire danced along Oryx's scales. The SandWing looked at Storm, tears streaming down his face.

Fear and panic pinched her stomach while her heart punched at the inside of her ribs. If anything happened to Oryx she would never forgive herself. She had to act fast. She had to do _something_! A frenzy of thoughts clogged her mind.

Her constricted chest wouldn't be able to produce a strong enough frost-breath to hit him, and Wordweaver's ducked head was too far away for any of her pinched limbs to reach. Dammit, there had to be something else! Then Storm remembered that ghastly tail of hers. It was long, yes, but would it be long enough?

There was no time to think about it any longer. Grunting with effort Storm swung her tail in a large arch, aiming for the NightWing's face. It hit its mark.

She whipped it across his eyes, throwing off his now cracked glasses as blood spurted from his face. He released a roar of pain and dropped the map, his talons rushing to stop the fountain of gushing blood. With their master distracted and disoriented the statues began to jitter and twitch, their controlled grace going haywire. Oryx and Storm were dropped to the ground like sacks of stone where they scrambled together.

"Orxy! Are you alright!?" Storm searched his scales from any changes, but luckily whatever spell the NightWing had started hadn't been able to set in. The hybrid was trembling, fat tears still falling down his pale face. She went to wrap a comforting wing over his shoulders but he batted her away.

"I'm fine," he sniffled, quickly wiping away the tears only to have more come along. Anyone with half a brain could see he was lying, but they had other matters to attend to right now.

One of those matters being an enormous NightWing, blood gilding his face and throat, slithering their way with his lips pulled back in seething grimace. In dismay she realized she had only hit one eye. The other was glazed over in agony and fury, darting in every direction in search of them. Ignoring the protests Storm flung a wing in front of Oryx, placing herself as a barrier between him and the sorcerer. A pathetic barrier but a barrier nonetheless!

Storm stiffened as Wordweaver's gaze travelled over her. She prepared her fighting stance, not sure if it would do any good against whatever magic he had hidden up his snout.

"FIND THEM!" he bellowed, his voice shaking the very ground and walls. At the opening above them several of the trees clinging to the edge shook loose, plummeting into the river in a commotion of foam and mist. "FIND THEM AND BRING THEM TO ME!"

The statues leapt to actions, heading towards them. Storm looked for an opening to run but they were surrounded. The only option they had was to fight their way out.

Or, at least she had thought so, until the statues walked right past them with cool indifference. Wordweaver, too, was no longer paying them any mind. His talon, the one not holding the wound, was blinding brushing along the ground. "Find my glasses! And whatever you do, do NOT break them! Those things cost a fortune!"

Storm stood from her crouch, brows pinched together, but soon enough she understood. He wasn't looking for _them_. It was his glasses he wanted, he couldn't even see them!

It was Oryx that pulled her from her relieved shock. His warm talons latched onto her arm and shook. "Come on! We have to go!" Quickly he lunged forward and grabbed the map that still lay on the ground and started towards the river. Storm turned to join him, but something glinting in the grass caught her eyes. It was Wordweaver's glasses, a mere few meters away from his searching claws.

Without really thinking things through Storm rushed to grab them before turning to catch up with Oryx. He was waiting for her by the riverbed, talons tapping anxiously at his side.

"Come on come on come on!" he urged before leaping over the roiling fingers of the river. Storm followed, making sure to drop the glasses into the hungry currents.

 _There,_ she thought with some satisfaction, _that'll keep him busy for a while longer._

They made it safely to the lake where the river water pooled as it was ejected from the mouth of the giant carving in the wall. Thanking the ancestors that _this_ statue didn't come to life, they clambered up the slick limbs of the dragon before crawling back into its mouth. Storm took one last look behind her, shivered, and then entered back into the darkness.

* * *

As they followed Oryx's marked path back up the river and tunnels, it was becoming starkly evident that the younger dragon was not recovering. His ears laid flat against his head, tail swaying, and eyes ready to fall out. Every few seconds he would glance over his shoulder and he refused to stop for any breaks. Finally Storm had to take action.

"Oryx, stop! I need to catch my breath!"

"We have to keep going!" Through the heavy heaves of his own chest the panic tone jumped out. They had made it out of the riverbed and were now among those impossibly dark, twisting tunnels that Storm had nearly got lost in. They were almost to the end, but Storm wasn't going a step further until she had Oryx sorted out.

"I said stop!" Without the energy to do much else she nudged him hard with her shoulder. It was enough to break his pace so she could get in front of him to block his path. Once he righted himself he tried to push past her.

"Storm, move!"

"No. Not until you calm down."

"We have to keep going he could be right behind us – "

"Without his glasses I doubt he's doing much of anything. Now SIT down and tell me what's wrong!"

"We're being chased by a crazy wizard! _That's_ what's wrong!"

But being larger and older Storm had the advantage in this blind scuffle in the dark. Pressing down on his shoulders Oryx was forced to relent. She could feel his thundering pulse beneath her palms. Now that things were settled the complete blackness crowding them in was a bit unnerving. Before they had been able to at least concentrate on their running to ignore the nothingness surrounding them.

"Could, uh, you give us some light?" Storm requested to which the younger dragon obliged. It was just their luck his fire found the withered, dry remains of some woody plant that had made the bad decision of trying to live down here. The fire flickered and swelled and devoured the plant matter until its light gilded the swirling tunnels in gold and oranges. It hit Oryx's face, reflecting off the tear-streams and quailing expression.

Storm's heart wilted like that dead plant. Oh Oryx.

"So what's this all about, then?" she finally spoke to fill the space between them. "I know it was a scary situation but you can't let that fear control you that easily."

To these words hung his head even lower and Storm rushed to think of a way to help. She pulled her limbs in close, wondering what to say. Should she pat his arm reassuringly? Rub his back? What did dragons so to offer comfort? By the time she figured something out the moment had passed. He looked at her expectantly and she said the first thing that came to mind, something that had been drilled into her since hatching, "We must be stronger than our emotions." She recounted this time-old IceWing credo not only as a reminder to herself, but also to hide the real worries of her mind. She had never seen Oryx so panicked. So afraid. It filled her with anxiety.

"That's easy for you to say," he snapped. Storm nearly balked at the tone. When had he ever spoken with such venom? When he looked up his eyes seemed to be sunken into his head. "I almost _died,_ Storm. I was almost turned into…into one of those soul-less statues!" His talons began to shake again. She went to reach for them but he pulled out of her grasp. "You don't understand. You didn't have that NightWing looming over you! Those statues…their faces…they….they were so scared. So sad." His gazed soften back into sorrow, a ring of sparkling fluid gathering on his lashes. "And I was almost one of them."

Despite the ache in Storm's heart, she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. She had been terrified too, but they have a task at talon. She didn't have the time to fall into her own emotions. She pursed her lips. "This isn't the first time you've almost died! What were you expecting at the start of this map-finding task? That it would be a fun adventure with no risks?"

"I don't know!" His voiced was raised now, the innocence of it fracturing to reveal anger. "Maybe I did at first but now it's not fun anymore." Hot tears began to drip down his face. He released a choked sob. "I just want to go home. I just want Caracal back and things to go back to how they were."

With his gentle cries in the air Storm felt cold guilt pinch her stomach. It dawned on her that maybe this was more than just a fear response. Storm kept forgetting that Oryx was the youngest of their group, save Caracal. He had been through so much while always remaining positive. But that didn't mean he hadn't felt the stress and fear. Instead of talking about it he had let it pile up. Everyone had a breaking point and he had reached his. And what was _she_ doing? Treating him like some solider falling out of line. Like _she_ would have been treated. This wasn't the army. She wasn't in the Ice Kingdom anymore. This was here friend before her and he needed her…but she didn't know how to help. Storm had been trained to do many things, but comforting a despairing dragon was not one of them.

 _You dimmed-brained lemming_ , she scolded herself, _it doesn't take a genius to know what to do._

She shuffled over to his hunch over form that shook from sobs. She reached a wing out but hesitated. In the back of her mind a shrill voice like wind whistling through branches spoke to her. _Hugging isn't a very IceWing thing to do. What would Prince Frazil say to such behaviour?_

A mental snarl rose up, so fierce and hot it sent the minor voice fleeing. _Prince Frazil can stuff his nose with pinecones. Who cares what my Tribe approves of? It's not like they're here to judge me and if they were, well… I'd tell THEM to stuff pinecones up their snouts as well!_

As if to prove to herself she truly no longer cared she snared her wings around Oryx, perhaps a little too aggressively, and squeezed him tight against her chest. Momentarily the tears stopped as sorrow was replaced by confusion, but they started again and he buried his head beneath her chin. Storm was just thankful he hadn't pushed her away again and as the minutes dripped by she relaxed her grip and the embrace became more natural until she found herself stoking his back in soft circles. Memories surfaced briefly in her mind. She remembered her father doing this to her when she had come home one afternoon. She had hurt herself at school. Her wing and ankle had been injured but she hadn't let anyone know. When she got home she cried like the hatchling he was. She was pulled from this remembered moment as Oryx's breathing changed. His sobs turned to sniffles but he still leaned against her until his breathing steadied. She gave him another tight squeeze. "I'm sorry I was short with you. I understand how hard all this is," her voice trickled out like the many rivers of meltwater the funneled through the Ice Kingdom in the spring.

Oryx turned his face to angle it upwards. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

His tail curled and unfurled at the edges of her vision. "How do you do all this stuff and be so brave about it? Aren't you scared that we'll fail? Or die? Or fail and die?"

Storm released a nasally snort. "Of course I'm afraid! Each day I wake up wondering what fresh hell awaits us in the next twenty-four hours. But I learned long ago that emotions like fear and despair don't do a damn thing for me. I have to focus on what I _can_ do and work towards it." She rested her tail across Oryx's and he took the extra step to wind them together. It was a strange feeling but Storm didn't pull away. She could learn to like such contact. "We'll get through this," she murmured, hoping she was right.

Oryx hung on her every word with all his faith and trust. "You think so?" Some colour returned to his face.

"Well, we're in better shape than we were yesterday," she offered, not wanting to lie. "We have the map don't we?"

Oryx made a face at her. It wasn't a happy face either. "We have _a_ map. We don't know if it's even the right one."

Storm winced at the pessimistic tone. _Ah, I guess he caught on to that_. By how eager he had been to take it she had assumed the thought hadn't crossed his mind. She supposed there was one way to find out.

"Take it out. Let's test it." Oryx did as instructed and removed the warn scroll from under his wing. Carefully he unrolled it, offering one side to Storm while he held the other. The fire was beginning to run out of dead plant to eat, but its weak light illumination the parchment enough to reveal that…there was nothing on it. Blank. Except for the various stains and imperfections that marred the paper. Storm's ears twitched nervously. This didn't bode well.

"Maybe… we need to say something. Tell it to show us a place or….something," Storm thought aloud in an attempt to stifle the growing anxiety. Each motioned for the other to try it out, and eventually Oryx sighed and cleared his throat.

"Uh, OK map, show me the Sky Kingdom."

Nothing. The paper remained stubbornly white, or yellow rather. For a second Storm thought something was happening, but it only turned out to be her moving thumb casting shadows across the paper. Oryx released a despairing gasp and Storm pulled him close again.

"It's not even the right map!" His cries were infused with bitterness as he dropped his side of the map to wipe his eyes. Storm took both sides and turned the scroll over and around, inspecting every angle. While nothing came to her eyes, her other senses were telling her something else. All along her talons and palms a tingling sensation spread. She would know that feeling anywhere. The feeling of animus magic. While all the evidence pointed otherwise, Storm's instincts were telling her this was what they had been looking for.

There was magic in this map. They just had to figure out how to unlock it.

"Don't lose hope," she told the younger dragon still nestled into her side. "This is the right map. It must require something special to work…or a certain phrase…" Storm wagered some guesses for Oryx's sake, although she couldn't be sure. Either way it seemed to work as the dreary expression lifted from his face. Not completely, but a little.

"Well we better figure it out soon," Oryx said. "The pirate Queen isn't going to want a map she can't use."

At the mention of the horrid SeaWing Storm's stomach turned. There was no room for failure. "We'll figure it out," she promised more to herself that Oryx, but the SandWing heard her words and was comforted. By now the fire was burning down as smoldering embers were replacing the actual flame. Although the light was still strong enough to reach Oryx's face and make the golden chain around his neck twinkle. He looked tired. Storm nuzzled his shoulder. "Come on. Let's go."

* * *

Luckily the trap-door had been a two way mechanism and after nudging, pressing, and kicking some inconspicuous rocks they had managed to open it. Moonlight, cold and bright, spilled into their eyes and bleached the desert sands white. For a moment an image of the Ice Kingdom flashed in her mind's eye but when she blinked it disappeared. The ravine appeared before her again, indifferent yet mocking. The Ice Kingdom felt impossibly far away now as if she could fly for years and never get there.

Now that the danger of Wordweaver and the map were at the back of her mind, she had the mental energy to start worrying about her friends. Were they still hiding? How was she going to find them?

 _If I knew how to use that stupid map I could find them easily,_ she complained to herself but quickly stopped. Ruminating about what she _couldn't_ do wasn't going to get anything done. Besides, both she and Oryx were exhausted. The best thing they could do for themselves was rest for the night and start the search for their friends tomorrow.

Not wanting to stay in the cave a moment longer they decided to head towards a larger opening in the sandstone near the bottom of the ravine. With each step Storm's limbs became heavier until they dragged in the sand. Inside the shelter the sand was soft and cool and Storm found she didn't really care right now if it got under her scales or up her nose. She curled up near the back wall and Oryx forced himself beneath her wings and cuddled close. To her surprise Storm found she was enjoying the contact more. Memories of crawling into her sister's bed on blizzardy nights came to mind. Wrapped in her sister's wings the dangers of the outside world had seemed far away and small. She hoped she could offer that same comfort to Oryx.

Transiently her hears honed in on the hoots of burrowing owls and the howls of coyotes, but soon those fell away to her own breathing and-

"Are you sure you saw them come in here?"

"Definitely. It was definitely them."

Storm's eyes flung open and she was on her feet instantly...or she would have been if her talons hadn't been tangled in Oryx's tail. She crashed to the ground snout first and inhaled a nice breath of sand.

"Huh? Wha –" By now Oryx's was on his feet too, spinning in confused circles while Storm coughed up sand.

"See. Told you," the voice said again, much closer this time, and Storm nearly slapped herself for you not recognizing it sooner. She would have recognized Ember's taunting lilt anywhere.

"Lotus! Ember!" The SandWing was wide awake now. He flung himself opened-armed at the MudWing who hugged him closed.

"I'm so glad you're alright," Lotus spoke, squeezing Oryx until he released a high pitched cough. She released him but kept hold of his face, forcing him to look her in the eye. "And where have you two _been_?!" she demanded; the motherly concern yielding to motherly anger. "You just disappeared on us! We were terrified! And _you –_ " now her pink eyes bore down on Storm. "Where did you run off to?"

"Storm found me," Oryx mumbled through the talons still cupped around his face. "We were in this underground place and there was an animus but he wasn't and an animus and he tried to kill us."

"WHAT!?" Lotus and Ember voiced in unison. Lotus released Oryx but it was Storm she looked to for more answers. "What happened?"

Storm rubbed her forehead. "It's a long story. The good news is we found the map." At her prompting Oryx removed the relic from beneath his wing to present to the others. They ogled it in amazement.

"Fascinating," Lotus whispered, running her talons along the paper. Meanwhile Ember observed it with much more skepticism.

"Hmm. Have you tested it out yet?"

"We did but we can't get it to work right," Oryx answered, his form slouching forlornly.

"Although I'm sure just it's something simple! We'll figure it out," Storm added with haste. For one reason or another she thought it important to keep everyone's spirits high. Of course, she already knew one dragon that would probably have a few ideas on what to do. She craned her neck, looking behind the two females to see if he was nearby. "So…um…is Canyon around?" She tried not to sound so eager, though her quickened pulse refused to follow instructions.

But when Lotus and Ember exchanged regretful expressions did all pretenses of excitement vanish. Cold stones of dread filled her stomach.

"What happened? Where is he?" Storm looked around again at the dragons present. "And for that matter where is Fang?"

"They were taken," Ember's answer was blunt and to the point. "They're prisoners of the Black Talon now."

Storm's jaw fell open but she quickly closed it shut. She took a breath. Now was not the time to get emotional. "Tell me what happened," she demanded in a calm, even tone.

Lotus folded her wings close together. "It's a long story."

"I don't care. I need to know."

"Well you better talk and fly," Ember voiced as she headed back out of the cave. She poked her long neck outside, checking the area. "We've got to go."

"Go? Go where?" Oryx looked around at his friends in confusion. "Did the Order come back?"

The small SkyWing shook her head and turned around. "No they haven't come back, but while you two where romping around in Moons'-know-where Lotus and I were devising a rescue mission…and it starts tonight."


	20. The Pre-Plan

Four shapes drifted over the arching hills of sand in a swift and panicked tempo. The skies would have been too dangerous; an easy place to be seen. The ground was their only option. Luckily the shifting grains swallowed the talon prints, meshing and blending them into the natural folds of silken gold. Moonlight painted the sands white and gilded the dragons' scales in chilling silver.

At any other moment Storm might have paused to admire such a sight, but right now her mind thrashed against her skull with one obsessive thought: Canyon.

He and Fang had been captured by the Order of the Black Talon and now they had to be rescued…although Ember and Lotus had been scant on the details as to how THAT was going to happened. In fact they hadn't told her anything at all.

"You still haven't told me how all this happened; how did Canyon end up getting captured anyway?" Storm uttered between deep breaths. She was more tired than she had realized and her body was not afraid to remind of her of such as the tried to run on soft ground that sucked her down with each step. "He's too clever to fall for any tricks or traps."

To her surprise Lotus released a harsh, unnecessarily loud "HA" at the comment. The large MudWing was at the head of the group but she slowed to match Storm's position at the back.

"What's so funny?" Storm demanded when Lotus reached her side, feeling insulted on Canyon's behalf and more than a little defensive. "Canyon is intelligent and resourceful…I just want to know how they managed to capture him." Storm tried to make it sound like an innocent question and not the opaque admiration that it was.

Again, Lotus laughed and Storm soured. "You give him too much credit," Lotus said, her voice ripe with that dry certainty that crosses between old friends when they speak of each other. Storm tried to ignore the sneaking dagger of jealousy embedded in her side as Lotus went on to say, "When it comes to matters of the heart he's just as much of a fool as anyone else."

That wiped Storm's mind of all gloomy moods; her talons stumbled over themselves as a blush painted her face. "M-matters of the heart you say?" Storm waited in desperation for Lotus to continue.

"Well it's the only logical explanation I can think of for his actions," the MudWing hypothesized alongside a shrug. "We all saw you jump into that crevice when the Black Talons appeared, but we had no idea you had found an escape tunnel. When those two initiates started poking around Canyon leapt out of hiding to draw them away from you," - her lips tightened into a frustrated line - "and went and got himself caught in the process."

"What about Fang?" Oryx asked from his position to the left. "Why was he caught?"

"Because he's an IDIOT that can't handle being upstaged by anyone." This snarl came from Ember. "If he sees someone being heroic than _he_ has to do something twice as good."

Storm wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Well perhaps being captured will smarten him up. There's no room for an ego that size in such a small dragon."

When she saw Lotus give her a warning side-long glance Storm began to wonder if she had said something wrong. Her doubts were affirmed when Ember abruptly halted, her talons sinking in the sand and eyes pinpricks of sweltering rage. A moment later she spun around. Each thundering step brought her closer to Storm and the IceWing could only pack-pedal away at the last moment to avoid their snouts colliding.

"This would never have happened if you had just stayed behind like we told you to, IceWing!" The small SkyWing held a lot of rage and right now it was all focused on Storm. Momentarily stunned Storm could only gape like a fish for several second before her own rage came up to meet Ember's.

"Wait, you're blaming _me_?" The gall of such a claim was astounding. "Fang's actions were his own; you have NO right to be pointing your talon at me!" It was a struggle to speak when her frost glands kept twitching like this.

"Don't yell at her!"

Both females turned in surprise as Oryx pushed his way between them. He pressed his back against Storm, his defiant face angled at Ember. "If it's anyone's fault its mine. _I'm_ the one that disappeared. Storm was just trying to find me."

"Enough! Everyone!" Lotus finally joined the fray. "Oryx, no one here is to blame, especially not you." She went to reach for him but he pulled away.

"I'm not a newly-hatched, Lotus. You don't have to treat me like one!" His whole body was curled into a scowl. Lotus looked stunned for a moment before a collecting herself, although Storm saw the brief flash of pain behind her eyes.

"I know you're not a hatcling, but I – " the dragoness inhaled deeply, eyes closing for the briefest of moments, "We'll discuss this later, Oryx." She turned to the two smaller females now, her expression hardening. "But you two need stop this ridiculous argument and focus on the task at talon. Canyon and Fang need our help; this is not the time to start fighting amongst ourselves."

Storm bit her tongue to hold back her arguments. Ember provoked the situation; Storm had merely defended herself! Surely Lotus could see that. Ember's tail lashed against the sand. "This is pointless. As soon as I get Fang back we are leaving you worms to fend for yourselves." Kicking up a cloud of sand she spun around and marched on. The remaining trio watched with various expressions of frustration and annoyance. Storm was on the far end of that spectrum.

"What's her problem anyway?" she hissed to the others. "Is it because I'm an IceWing? She's despised me since the beginning for no reason." Lotus gave her a look and Storm returned it with an offended glare. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Weeelll," the MudWing stalled in her response, "you can be pretty rude, Storm. That might be a contributing factor."

Storm held a talon to her chest in shock. "Well excuse ME for having opinions. I'm sorry I'm not some quiet mouse that does as she's told without complaint or a voice."

Oryx snorted. "Uh…that's _exactly_ what you were; at least when I first met you. You were always doing what those first circle dragons told you and never said anything about it."

Storm puckered her lips in a bitter expression. Dammit he was right, and by his growing smirk he knew it. "Let's just go rescue Canyon already," she stated tartly and whipped around to trail after Ember.

"And Fang!" Oryx reminded as he and Lotus followed. Storm grumbled an acknowledgment

It didn't take them long to catch up to Ember. Perhaps she hadn't been as mad as she had appeared but in the end she hadn't gotten far at all. Thankfully rescuing Fang was more important to her than being mad at Storm; she got right to business as the group trudged along. "When Lotus and I were devising our plan we scoped the area. After those two tick-brains were caught the Order set up camp at the abandoned oasis. We're getting close so everyone stay alert."

Storm didn't bother asking what an oasis was or how it could be abandoned as she didn't need any more of Ember's scorn. Instead she nodded and checked the sky for anyone passing above. She could do that much at least.

Beneath her claws the soft grains began to shift into brittle, hard-packed dirt barely held together by the dried roots of dead plants. Crawling on their bellies, an activity Storm very much hated, they breached the last hilly dune before the ground gradually dropped away like a shallow bowl. Bodies low, they settled atop the crest of the hill and observed the scene. While sparsely populated near the rim, deeper into the ravine were little huts in various stages of ruin. Most were buried in sand but some looked recently dug out, although it was hard to tell in the dark.

"See? Down there. That's where they made camp," Ember whispered while pointing to some blobby shapes near the bottom of the bowl. Storm squinted. She was just able to make out some movement near the bottom where the thickest collection of buildings resided, all in various shapes and sizes. They seemed congregated around a shattered crust of dirt at the bottom. Like a dried up lake or something…

Storm's brain twitched with understanding. She was piecing together what an oasis was and why this one has been abandoned.

"So where are Fang and Canyon?" Oryx asked in the general direction of Lotus and Ember. The two females exchanges tight-lipped glances before shrugging unison.

Storm gave them withering glares. "You don't know!? You said you had a plan!"

Lotus teetered her talon back and forth. "I'd say it's more of a prototype of a plan. A pre-plan, if you will."

The IceWing held back a groan, praying to any Queen that was still listening to give her the patience needed to not swat someone. "Fine. So what DO you have?"

"First step is to gather information," Ember whispered. Her eyes were locked to the bottom of the bowl and Storm wondered if she could see something Storm couldn't. "Lotus and I will go down there to find where the boys are being held. You two can stay here and stay out of the way."

Oryx and Storm jolted. "What!? You can't expect me to just sit here and do nothing!" Storm protested alongside Oryx's own complaints. The two were promptly hushed by a frown from Lotus.

"It's the safest option," the MudWing explained. "This mission requires stealth, and, well, Storm, you kind of stick out like a dove in mud here."

Storm knew she was right, but that didn't stop her from sulking about it. "If this were the Ice Kingdom I'd blend in."

Ember rolled her eyes. "Well sweetheart this isn't the Ice Kingdom so suck it up."

"What about me?" Oryx stood as straight as he could. "I'm a _SandWing_! Sneaking around in the sand is literally the only thing I'm good at. Why can't I help?" His face looked determined but his voice was desperate. It was enough to soften even Ember's scowl.

Lotus went to Oryx, resting a talon on his shoulder. "I know you want to help, little one, but this will be dangerous. It's best if you stay here with Storm."

The small dragon's shoulders slumped down in resignation, the loss of an adventure shaping his face with crushing disappointment. Lotus nuzzled the crown of his head before turning away to discuss with Ember. She didn't see his brow furrow or the sharp, angular frown that disturbed his face.

"Uh, Oryx….are you alright?" Storm was sitting next to him and was mildly concerned to say the least.

He had been acting strangely ever since they escaped from Wordweaver. She hoped this wouldn't translate to him doing something stupid or dangerous.

In the end that was exactly what he did.

"No!" he argued to no one in particular or perhaps to all of them. The conversation halted between Ember and Lotus as a dragging breeze crawled through the dried shrubbery. "I'm sick of being treated like a dragonet. I'm part of this team too, aren't I? I've risked my life the same as all of you! Why aren't I allowed to do anything?" He was breathing hard; ears down flat against his head. Storm took a few steps to the side to avoid his lashing tail.

Ember shuffled awkwardly but Lotus showed no hesitation in moving towards the SandWing, words of comfort primed on her tongue to sooth the situation as always. "Oryx, I know it's frustrating but you've already risked your life way too many times." She spoke the final part of the sentence with drops of bitterness as if she blamed herself for not protecting him. "You'd be better off here with Storm. You're much too young to be caught up in all this foolishness."

The little cream coloured dragon sat in the sand with a look even more perturbed than before. "But Ember is the same age as me!" he argued. This took Lotus unprepared and Storm stole a few quick glances between Oryx and the SkyWing. They were indeed the same age. " _She_ gets to do all this fun dangerous stuff!" Oryx continued with spit. " _She_ doesn't have to stay behind because it's not safe enough. It's not fair!"

Although Storm was leaning more towards Lotus' side of the argument, she hardly had a leg to stand on. In the Ice Kingdom dragonets were barely three years old before they begun training. Even before that they were given responsibilities and exposed to risks. It was not uncommon for families to test the strength of their offspring by sending them on tasks like flying through blizzard winds or on hunting expeditions in the dead of winter.

Mind you, none of those risks involved crossing paths with an insane cult with an arsenal of magical weapons at their disposal and an obvious interest in the Ice Kingdom.

"If he wants to come let him come." This came from Ember; her indifferent tone weeded through with shy glances of interest towards Oryx. Storm and Lotus gawked at her. "If he can keep quiet and do what I say then I don't care, but hurry up and make a decision! We don't got all night."

Lotus made to protest but Oryx was already on his talons and at Ember's side. "I'm ready! Let's go!"

"Wait – but – Oryx it's too dangerous!" Lotus reached out a talon towards him and, surprisingly, he didn't dodge away this time. Now calm, he held Lotus' talon between his own.

"I'll be fine. Trust me, OK?" How quickly the roles had switched. Listening to this conversation felt akin to a father comforting a dragonet before departing on a trip. He patted Lotus' talon on last time before turning away. Without a glance back he and Ember hurried over the tip of the hill to descend into the town.

Storm took a seat next to the stunned-silent form of Lotus, watching with difficulty as thy younger dragons slipped among the shadows of the buildings. Ember was a dim red glitter in the moonlight, but Oryx was indistinguishable from the pale banks of sand. Storm breathed out the tension in her stomach. Perhaps Oryx would be alright after all. He was young but certainly not an idiot. Neither was Ember…even if she was a brutish wolf-breathed snow eater most of the time. As long as she kept Oryx safe and helped them get Canyon back then Storm would put up with her.

Or at least she'd TRY to. No promises.

Wondering what the next step of their plan might be Storm turned to Lotus and was greeted by an empty space where the MudWing had once resided. Panic jolted through her.

"Lotus!?" It took Storm a moment to find the brown scaled dragoness among the similarly hued wooden structures. She was hiding behind the same building Oryx and Ember had been moments ago. The younger dragons were long gone now, but Storm would bet her best wing that Lotus was there trying to find them.

The IceWing huffed. And here she thought Lotus was the most sensible of them all!

Grumbling under her breath Storm hurried down the hill as well, only tripping once, and came up behind the MudWing. "Lotus, what are you doing? We're supposed to be waiting for them."

Lotus merely flicked unconcerned ears at Storm's voice, not responding right away. At length she murmured, "Something is wrong with Oryx. He's been acting strange ever since you two returned…" Lotus buried her talons deep into the sand, angling her eyes up at Storm. "What happened when you two disappeared?"

Storm shifted her wings uncomfortably. It was no secret and she had no intentions of making it such; but it still felt wrong to recount the story. It stuck to the roof of her mouth and beneath her tongue in the most frustrating way. Storm had to concentrate. "Indeed. Something strange did happen. In that underground world we had a run in with an insane dragon. He had the power of an animus although he wasn't one." Storm smothered back a shiver as his crazed, blood smeared face flashed in her mind. "His name was Wordweaver." Her voice moved without thoughts in a struggle to recall this strangely vapid memory. It had been terrifying and magical and deadly. Why was it fading so quickly? Being drawn from her head in greedy gulps to leave a tingle down her scalp. "He was part of a different Order, called the Golden…something…"

"Dawn," Lotus said without looking up. Her grim expression remained forward onto the crumbling terrain. Her rosy irises dappled red.

Storm stared. "Yes. How did you know?"

Lotus blinked until her expression returned to normal. She sat up. "And what happened with this powerful dragon? How did you acquire the map?"

The IceWing studied Lotus, wondering if she had simply not heard the question or had brushed over it intentionally. Storm liked Lotus. She didn't want to distrust her, but this certainly hadn't been the first time the MudWing had made her scales prickle. "We stole it," Storm answered nonetheless. "Wordweaver tried to kill us to keep the place hidden but we escaped. Oryx was…deeply affected by this." Storm thought back to the winding tunnels and her fleeting moment with Oryx by the fire. "I don't know why this particular life threatening event was the one that finally got through his thick skull. You'd think after nearly being murdered by pirates and drowning he'd have realized the danger he was in sooner."

Lotus shrugged, smiling wistfully. "The joys of being young."

Storm did not smile. "More like the joys of being an ignorant child." She bit her harsh tongue. "No, I don't mean that. He isn't an ignorant child…but he CAN be foolish."

"We're all fools, Storm, in one way or another." Lotus touched their wings together briefly. Her voice, while kind as always, seemed far off like an echo down a long chamber. Storm wondered what memories had been stirred up in the MudWing's mind. "Whatever is going on with him," Lotus continued, now with solid voice, "I suspect he is trying to act more adult in an attempt to cope with his fear. There's nothing we can do besides let him handle it in his own way."

 _Ever the psychologist,_ Storm mused. "So what? We just let him continue to put himself at risk?"

"Storm," Lotus tilted her head towards the IceWing "life is full of risks. You can't protect him forever."

Storm wrinkled her face into a prunish frown. "Neither can you."

The MudWing's smile faltered. She looked away and cleared her throat. "Earlier Oryx said something about the map not working properly… may I see it?"

The change in conversation was welcomed. Storm nodded and retrieved the item, even more wrinkled then it had been originally, from beneath her wing. Lotus took hold of it, warily, and spread it open before her face. "What went wrong?"

Storm lifted her wings briefly before letting them fall at her side in a shrug. "I have no idea. We asked it to show us the location of something and nothing happened. It remained blank."

"Hmm." Lotus turned the parchment over in her talons. "Perhaps you didn't ask clearly enough. I'll give it a shot." Ripples of concentration bent the mud dragon's brow. With a demanding air Lotus cleared her throat and said, "Map, show me the location of Lotus the MudWing…please." As the sentence came to an end Lotus brought the paper close to her squinting eyes. "Hmm."

Lotus' disenchantment was enough of an answer, but still, Storm had to ask. "Well? Did it work?"

Without looking up she nodded, confused. "Yes, actually, it did."

Storm sighed, not at all surprised – "Wait, WHAT!?" – With blinding speed, an impressive feat for an IceWing in the desert, Storm lurched towards Lotus and grabbed the map from her talons. Accusation mixed with excitement mingled among her thoughts as she gazed upon the paper that was no longer blank; Lotus had spoken truthfully.

Veins of rich black wisped and curled along the wrinkled world of paper between her talons. Timidly she brushed the back of her palm along the parchment and brought it to her face. She gasped quietly. No residue stained her scales despite the glistening wet appearance of the design. Storm studied it again as Lotus came to peer over her shoulder.

It was like looking at their location from above. Lotus' position was designated with a perfectly printed star, the surrounding hills and dips made visual by lines that thinned or thickened with the altitude. Perfectly miniature palm trees and huts were sketched in where appropriated. Storm had to blink a few times to make sure it wasn't some sleep-deprived hallucination. When she was certain it was real, her mouth fell open. "It works," she whispered, then spun around to expose her full-grinned face to Lotus. "IT WORKS!" The relief made her silly and she flung her arms around her friend.

The older female laughed. She returned the hug though it was not nearly as free and joyful. "Let's not celebrate just yet," she warned, sobering Storm. "We should make sure it can do more than just tell us our own location." The IceWing pulled away and hoped the moonlight wasn't strong enough to reveal the embarrassed blue of her face.

"Yes. Good point." Storm already knew what she wanted to ask. She gripped the map tightly. "Canyon. Show me where Canyon of the SkyWings is." The shake of her breath fell onto the paper and the magic within responded. Lotus' star was swallowed and a few inches away it appeared again, soaking into the plain background. The star was over one of the many little buildings scattered close to the dried watering hole.

Relief flooded through Storm before the dread. _He's safe for now; just keep that in mind._ It was easy to say those things but quite another to actually follow through with the advice. She ground her teeth. Sure he was safe, but had they harmed him? Had they made him one of those mindless zombies? Storm's stomach burned and churned. She wasn't doing herself any favours with all this worrying. And what of Fang?

That was the next question she asked. She and Lotus both exhaled in relief when the star vanished and reappeared in the same spot. So they were being kept together. Ember and Oryx wouldn't have to waste time finding two prison cells. As a final test they checked where the two young dragons were and found they were on their way back.

Storm lowered the map but dare not put it down. While pleased to know her friends were safe, or at least alive, a chilling shard of fear burrowed itself into her gut. "This is a very useful tool. No wonder Priestess and Magpie want it."

"A very _powerful_ tool," Lotus corrected, sounding sorry of the fact. In the hushes that fell between each lowly breeze the females shared a moment of bitter regret. In a perfect world they would destroy the map, or at least keep it far from the grasps of those who would use it for evil. But life was not perfect. Caracal's safety depended on this infernal weapon. They had no choice in the matter.

"I suppose this means Magpie will be able to find that treasure before Priestess." Storm slumped her shoulders in a way that would have earned her a slap on the snout for breaching posture-protocol in the army. "At least that wretched SeaWing isn't after the Ice Kingdom. Once we get Caracal we can leave and never look back."

Lotus nodded, although her eyes were glazed over with distracting thoughts as she stared at the sky. "It will be dawn soon."

Storm turned towards the horizon to see Lotus was right. Fire cracked the heavens and soon the sun's golden wings would be laid upon the earth. There would be no hope of hiding then and waiting until the next nightfall was an impossibility. Time was a luxury they did not have.

Already spindles of anxiety were spreading like webs through her body at the thought of how they were going to accomplish this heist of dragons. She went to put the map away but Lotus stopped her. Storm gave Lotus a puzzled look. "Shouldn't we be getting to planning now? We don't have all the much time – "

"We will in a moment." Lotus rested a talon on the artifact. "But there something else I – _we –_ can find before giving this map away." Perplexed but curious Storm passed the map over. Lotus spread it wide. "What was that lost city called again? The one from your IceWing legend."

"Sivanka?" Storm half-asked half-answered. At the mere utterance of the word the paper began to ripple and snap like a flag caught in a strong wind despite no passing breeze. It pulled hard against Lotus' grip like a hunted animal in the grasps of a predator.

"Help me hold it!" Lotus hissed and Storm sidled up to her side, struggling past heavy wings to help keep hold of the wiggling item. Even with the two of them together it was a struggle.

Then, without warning, the map went limp and the two females nearly stumbled forward at the sudden loss of resistance. The soft light of the new-hatched dawn feathered over them to reveal…nothing. That paper was blank. Storm and Lotus swapped confusion through a glance.

"Well _that_ was something," Lotus huffed. She threw her snout up like some connoisseur of how maps should behave. "All that fuss for nothing."

Meanwhile Storm was steps away from falling apart as the questions began to pile up. By all the Queens of years passed had just happened? Was this normal? Did they break it? Was Sivanka too ancient for even this timeless relic to find? A bitter taste gathered at the base of her mind. Or perhaps it just didn't exist. Here she was getting caught up in hatchling dreams again. Sivanka was nothing but a legend.

But then the star appeared; a drop in an ocean of white. Storm's breath caught in her throat. Slowly, painfully, the rest of the world was inked in. Each line and stroke a hard-fought struggle, as if opposed by an older, arcane magic. Unblinking and barely breathing they watched the picture unfold until Lotus gave a soft gasp of recognition.

"That's the Sky Kindgom!" she exclaimed as the finishing details were etched in. She touched her talon, blackened from days of trudging through hot sand, to the map, brushing it over the arc of mountains Storm knew as Falcon's pass. There, buried atop the largest of the great summits, sat the star.

Storm swallowed loudly, her throat gone dry. The City of Sivanka was… _real_? It had to be if the map deemed it so! But…the _Sky Kingdom_? That made no sense…

"Guys!" a sharp hiss startled Lotus and Storm to nearly drop the map as Oryx, trailing closely by Ember, came into view. The SandWing was wide faced and smiling like the lovable fool he was, all pretenses of the previous anger wiped from his face. "Guys it was so awesome! We had to sneak by these guards and there was this building with a bunch of WEAPONS in it but Ember said I couldn't take anyway and then – oh hey is that the map? Did you get it to work yet?"

Storm's ears were ringing from the swell of information he had just thrown at them but managed a nod. "Yes! Yes we did get it to work. Come look! We found the – wait a minute – "

Oryx rushed over but with each step closer the image receded away; by the time he reached her side only a blank wall of white greeted him. He snorted. "So it's still broken, eh?"

"No – but – it was working a minute ago!" Storm shook it. "Come on! Show me Sivanka. The Ice Kingdom. Anything!" The map remained stubbornly mute. She looked to Lotus helplessly but the MudWing studying Oryx with lingering interest.

"We can figure out this map stuff later," Ember said, casting anxious glances at the quickly rising sun. "Do you want to know about Canyon or not?"

Storm all but dropped the map. The mysterious of magic and myths were nothing compared to Canyon. "Is he alright? Are they safe? Were they hurt in any way?"

Ember rudely flicked her tail over Storm's snout to silence her. "Yes, they're safe…for now. We couldn't get too close but we were able to get their attention. They know we're here at least."

"How bad is it?" Lotus asked reluctantly.

Ember shrugged. "Tricky but I've seen worse. There are four guards stationed around the parameter. Easy enough to handle. The main issue is…well…"

"…the magical barrier around the prison that we have no idea how to take down or get past," Oryx helpfully supplied. Despite the cheer in his voice vapours of dismay gathered to cloud over the group.

"And don't forget the dozen or so traps set about," Ember tagged on the end. "I've set enough traps in my life to know when to spot one, and oh boy – " her ears dropped, " – do they have a lot."

A somber silence spread between them as the weight of the task sunk in.

With her previous elation gone Storm closed her eyes and tried to focus her thoughts. Guards. Magical barrier. Traps. All right in the middle of the enemy's camp.

Every ounce of logic within had already given up. She could fight off four dragons easily but ones with enchanted weapons and perhaps magic themselves? Not to mention she was out of her element, literally. Her frost glands had dried up soon after returning to the desert and she felt thick in the limbs like wading through water. Her mind was fuzzy, her head clouded, and her patience thinned to like the ice of summer.

But perhaps the most disturbing realization of them all was that…Storm didn't care. She was going to get Canyon and Fang back.

When she opened her eyes she found the others staring at her rather oddly. A part of her remembered to feel embarrassed but the rest of her had its mind set on another task.

Storm looked around the group, senses keen. "Well don't just sit around staring at me! Let's make a plan and rescue those idiots!"

So, hidden in the shadows of the rising sun, the four dragons got to work.


	21. Prisoner

Canyon hated not being in control.

In the army many had thought his drive to become Commander had been egged on by some burning ambition deep within. Perhaps so. At least that's what he told others when they asked what had pushed him towards such high goals.

He would never admit that he had simply thought he could do a better job. He had been sick of watching his friends die due to some lack of forethought or inattention to what was supposedly a minor detail.

And that was why, trapped behind bars, helpless and forced to rely on the others to rescue him, Canyon felt more vulnerable than ever before.

And he _hated_ it.

"Would you sit down already?" Fang's nag kicked at the side of his temple like a thrown stone. "Standing at the window looking like a kicked coyote pup isn't going to do you much good." The tomb raider say reclined in the corner with his tail flopped over his eyes, his copious jewelry sparkling in the glow of the single torch hung on the wall.

Canyon clenched his jaw while his talons tightened around the bars that covered the windows of their cell. He didn't respond, just like he hadn't responded to any of the ruffian's previous quips and comments either. Instead he returned his gaze to the window, trying to keep in his sight the disappearing shadows of Oryx and Ember as they glided like ghosts over the dunes.

They had appeared like spectres in the night while the SkyWing had been staring forlornly into the desert. They hadn't been able to speak to him, the guards were too close, but they had managed to catch his attention to let him know they were there and, from what Canyon assumed the frantic talon waving by Oryx meant, were going to bust them out…somehow.

Canyon both dreaded and desperately wanted to know how they intended to do that. Although another thought was taking up his limited attentional resources at the moment.

It brought relief to see Oryx back safely of course, and was eager to know where he had disappeared too, but he dared to hope that that meant Storm was back as well. Warmth rushed through his extremities at the thought of the glittering dragoness.

Never had someone frustrated and captivated him more than Storm. Emotions pulsed through her at every moment like fish beneath the eyes of a frozen lake, darting hither and tither when spooked by a passing shadow. She was fierce, reckless, and rude at times, there was no doubt about that, but she also expressed a warmth from the heart that drew him near.

Canyon laughed to himself. A month ago he had been warring with the IceWings and now he was falling in love with one. His family would be horrified of course…if he ever intended on seeing them again. With a soured mood he drew in a soul breath to exhale.

He supposed it could be worse. The only thing his family had hated more than an IceWing was an animus.

"Have you gone deaf, old man?" Fang was at his side now though the quip in his voice had been whittled down to a harsh hiss. "If you keep staring out the window like a moon-dazed owl the guards are gonna think something's up."

Canyon turned a sour eye to Fang and then to the iron door of their cage. The one barred area was reserved for the singular window, everything else was made of an iron so old it was a sickly green and rank of blood. The sand and wind-burned door fit poorly on its hinges so that Canyon could see the flicker of movement on the other side. The guards were still there of course, but they certainly weren't watching. In fact, by the amiable murmur of conversation that slipped through the cracks they seemed rather distracted.

"What are you talking about? They can't even see us."

Fang made a face that withered Canyon's patience. "Listen, old man," -he japed a talon into Canyon's chest- "I've done business with these guys before. They're not dumb."

"I _know_ that," Canyon all but roared. Even though Storm had been getting the brunt of the burn, Canyon was feeling the heat pound against his head as well to make him snappy. He was used to the cold mountain ranges where snow settled perpetually and the air was as thin as a veil of silk. Those were the skies he grew up in. In the back of his heart he had the hope of taking Storm there one day. He figured she would like it there with the snow and all.

He took a breath, his blood pressure steadily decreasing as he pictures flying through the snowy Alps with a certain IceWing.

He was a leader. A Commander. Losing his temper was not an option.

"Sorry. You're right. We need to be smart about this." Canyon quieted his speech, although he wasn't sure what the point was. It's not like they had an escape plan or anything to keep secret. Nonetheless Canyon scanned the parameter yet again and ran through, for the fifteenth time, all that he'd made note of: four guards, a series of items place equally around the building as some sort of barrier, and at least eighteen traps buried in the sand (he had watched them place them there himself).

Of course, it is pointless to set a trap without bait, which could only mean one thing: _they_ were the bait.

It was one of the only logical reasons Canyon could think of for why they were putting so much effort into guarding them. The other reason could be that they were waiting for some higher-up to come and interrogate/torture them for information. Or perhaps both scenarios were in play. Once the others were captured they would all be interrogated and killed. Or worse… made into mindless slaves.

Canyon tried not to think of that cursed dark magic crawling over his scales; drilling into his heart and pulling out his soul and mind to leave him an empty husk. Despite the nagging heat he shivered. He couldn't understand how Storm was so intrigued by this unnatural power. Everything it touched soured and was made corrupt.

The only good thing about animus magic was that it wasn't one hundred percent hereditary.

Canyon's ears startled up as a word of greeting was uttered on the other side of the door. The two captives had barely a second's notice before a massive SkyWing burst in; orange like a weak yolk and spit hanging from his teeth. Canyon stood bristling. Of all the dragons that could have captured him it had to be THIS drool-puss.

"So these are the only ones you caught?" he addressed the dusty MudWing over his shoulder. An affirmative grunt was returned and the SkyWing took a step forward. Canyon matched the action, taking the initiative to flare his wings out (ignoring Fang's indignant squawk at getting wing to the nose) and stuck his chest out in a threatening display.

"I demand to speak to whoever's in charge here! You have no right to – OOF!"

A wallop to the side of the head brought an end to all that. The orange dragon went right to Fang, glowering down at him like a hungry snake that also drooled a lot.

"Fang," he gurgled out in a way that reminded Canyon of pig fat roasting over flames.

"Gnosis," the young SandWing addressed in neutral tones. An awkward silence followed that Fang filled with a cheerful, "So….how are things?"

"I knew you were just another sleazy con-artist when we first started doing business with you," Gnosis spat with drool flying everywhere, "but I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to betray us."

In movements strained with disgust Fang carefully wiped the spittle from his face. "It's nothing personal. Just good business."

Gnosis gurgled out a scoff. "You'll see how good it is once we're done with you. And you!" He whipped his long neck towards Canyon. "You must be the mysterious associate that he keeps mentioning but never shows up to do business. Didn't think we'd find you, eh?"

Canyon prided himself at being quick of mind but even he was drawing a blank at the moment. What was this fellow going on about? He nearly asked the deranged dragon what he meant but from the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of Fang giving him a desperate look. Canyon instantly understood, although he didn't like it one bit.

"Yes," he said while trying to hide his reluctance, "I am Fang's… _associate_." Thoughts hammered through his mind so fast he barely had time to register them, although it did occur to him that this must mean Ember had never interacted with the Black Talons before. Whether that was important or not Canyon couldn't tell.

Gnosis smiled. It was horrible. "I have heard from my sources that you two know where to find the legendary map of Jerboa, is that true?"

Canyon and Fang stiffened.

"Uhhhh..." Fang began but Gnosis cut him off.

" _And_ you've sold that information to a group of dragons that wish to oppose us. Don't deny it, we already seen two of them. An IceWing with purple markings and a MudWing with rose coloured eyes." He snapped his talons and the dragon behind him passed over two scrolls. The SkyWing unrolled then and held one in each hand. Both showed a rough sketch of a dragoness but Canyon recognized them instantly. One was Storm and the other Lotus. His heart flew to his throat but he forced his face to relax. "Do these dragons look familiar to you? They infiltrated us several days ago and shortly after were seen with you two."

Vigorously the prisoners shook their heads.

"I've never seen those dragons in my life," Fang bluffed. "And I have no idea what you're talking about with this map thing."

Canyon nodded in agreement. "Release us. We are of no use to you."

Gnosis sighed and lowered the posters. "I see. I was hoping we could all be honest with each other here, but I suppose I thought wrong." His face feinted reluctance but his eyes gleamed as he reached for an item strapped to his arm. Long and slender it brought back a memory in Canyon.

 _Talons deep in rotting wood hanging beneath a dock. The smell of salt water deep in his nose. The slacked jawed gape of an IceWing. Dead eyes._

Canyon knew what was coming but his limbs moved like bags of sand. His nerves crackled with adrenalin and terror seized his throat.

Give him a hundred enemies, a thousand armies, a wing-ripping wind, anything but this. With his heart pounding in his ear he waited for the touch of death to reach him and the world to cloud over.

"Don't bother, Gnosis. We don't need them anymore."

The orange dragon stopped advancing to growl at whoever had interrupted him but doubled over with a shocked cry when the new comer was revealed.

Pushing her way into the crowded cell came a small MudWing with bronze tinted scales and eyes the colour of citrus. Even before Gnosis dropped to the floor in a bow Canyon knew who had intervened: Priestess. Canyon had only seen this dragon once before on the Island, but it would be an understatement to say she had made an impression. Even now she held the same sway over the room, animus power spilling from her scales to claw at his like wolves outside a rabbit's den.

He swallowed hard and stilled his shaking talons.

"Your excellency, I – I had no idea you were coming!" The orange Initiate still had his face down in the dirt. "I thought you were back on the Island preparing for…" he glances nervously at the prisoners, "…for the _you know what._ "

Priestess flicked her tail and Gnosis rose obediently. "There has been a change of plans," she said in a tone indicating it would be discussed more later. "But for now let's see what you lot have been up to. Who are these?"

It hadn't escaped Canyon's notice how quickly she had moved the subject away from these changed plans. He burned to know what had happened. He needed to know, everything depended on it, but it was hard to concentrate at the moment. Priestess eyed Fang transiently but the brunt of her attention was on Canyon. She looked at his scars as if placing him somewhere in her past. Hiding his discomfort Canyon folded his wings in tightly and held his chin up.

"Hello, Priestess," he spoke with clear dignity, hoping perhaps to throw her off at the surprise that this common riff-raff would know of her, "if that even is your real name."

To his pleasure she did appear startled, even if for a mere second. Finally Canyon felt he was regaining control of the situation….but that didn't last for long.

"Don't speak to her you scum!" For the second time that day Canyon received a wing to the face from Gnosis. He tumbled into the sand but before he could get his footing Gnosis was standing over him to stomp a well-placed talon down on Canyon's throat. "Thieves like you should know their place when it the presence of a prophet."

 _Prophet my arse,_ Canyon's bitter thoughts lashed out while he clawed at Gnosis' fat talons, his lungs struggling to find the oxygen they needed.

"Now now, Gnosis. Enough of that." At Priestess' command the weight was lifted from Canyon's throat and he gasped in a breath. She was hovering over him now, her eyes glinting with satisfaction of one who has finally recognized a face. "This is no way to treat a _Commander_."

A chill shot down Canyon's spine and into his stomach. He covered it up quickly and took Fang's outstretched talon to heave himself up. "I think you're confused," he stated. "I am just a grave robber. Nothing more."

Priestess' face was a serene wind before a blizzard. "Oh? Are you _sure_ you're not the same dragon that commanded the SkyWing and MudWing Western Coastline outpost." She tapped her chin. "What was that dragon's name again? Ah! Canyon!"

The chill in his spine erupted to his skin and muscles to dull his scales a shade or two paler. He didn't say anything, refusing to confirm the accusation, but he knew it was pointless. She had him pegged. What Canyon couldn't understand was _how._

How had she known? Had she gotten the information out of his soldiers that were still imprisoned in her work camps? Although why she would have wanted to know that information was a mystery…and the way she had looked at him with long buried recollection…as if someone had told her this information long ago…

"This has been fun but we really should be going," Priestess announced as if she were politely excusing herself from morning tea. "Come, Gnosis."

The orange dragon looked uneasy, glancing between the MudWing and prisoners. "So…you're _sure_ we don't need them? You have another way of finding the map?"

"I grow impatient with this map." The MudWing's tail lashed as she stepped through the rusty door frame. "We are moving on to the next step of the plan without it."

Gnosis' eyes ballooned from his skull. "You mean the _invasion_? B-but we're not prepared, there is still so much to do I – " He fell silent at Priestess' dagger eyes.

" _We will discuss this later_ ," she seethed before whipping around to leave. Gnosis followed looking a little moony-eyed.

"Hey wait!" Fang called as they slammed the door shut in his face. "What about us? Are you going to let us go or what?"

"Not likely," came a voice that was neither Gnosis nor Priestess. "And for all intents and purposes I'd suggest you forget any notions of such a thing happening in the near future." It was the same NightWing guard from before, the scrawny one that kept giggling to herself. She wasn't giggling now though. The higher ups had forgotten all about them it seemed.

Fang curled his lip back in frustration. "So what we're just supposed to wait here!" He slammed his shoulder into the door and a deep dent bent the door.

"Fang, calm yourself," Canyon muttered to the volatile youth. When that didn't work he snatched the small dragon by the shoulders. "Enough!" he ordered. "We have bigger things to worry about." His mind was working at a frantic pace. This was bad. So very very bad.

Priestess was here in the camp. That elevated the situation from dangerous to deadly and there was no way of getting this information to the others. Once again his talons were tied. He wanted to roar his frustration into the empty sky and fill it with his rage. He wanted to rip that rusty door from its hinges and fight his way out.

He wanted Storm by his side.

But swirling along with this rage and want was also fear.

The invasion of the Ice Kingdom was happening _now_ , or at least within the next few days. Canyon wasn't sure how this would impact his plans of rescuing his fellow SkyWings. Perhaps it would be just the distraction they needed to go undetected through enemy territory, but whatever advantaged he gained Canyon could only think of how devastated Storm was going to be when she found out.

It was just this sort of news that would make her do something reckless.

With a roiling stomach full of nerves the SkyWing looked at out the barred window, watching the rising sun peak over the dunes. A sigh pushed its way out of his snout. He had no idea what the coming days would bring; everything had been turned on its head and now he was left with the broken fragments of what had been the original plan. Whatever happened next he had no strategy. The uncertainty shook him to the core but for now there was only one thing he could do and it was the thing he hated most in this world: wait.

And so he did. With talons sunk in the sand and back bent in a brooding hunch he hunkered down…just as the first explosion sounded off.

* * *

Author's Note:

A POV change?! _WHAT_?! Shocking I know.

Anyway, I wish you all a Happy New Year and I hope you enjoyed the chapter :3


	22. Why Can't Things Just be Easy?

" _Idiot!_ You've alerted the whole camp!"

Ember's snarl floated past Storm's ringing eardrums and into what was left of her splattered brain. Legs shaking, she stood from behind the sand dune and blinked.

That had been some explosion.

The last thing she remembered was standing in the Black Talon's storeroom. It had been dark. Ember had lit a torch and handed it to Storm just as the fire illuminated hundreds of bamboo-stick bombs.

Then Storm remembered dropping the torch. Both dragons scrambled to escape as the fuses sparked to life and a chain reaction of explosions shook the earth. They had ducked behind a dune just as the debris had flown out in all direction. And now the whole camp knew they were here.

Storm shook the sand from her scales and stumbled after Ember. The red dragoness was quickly shuffling through the litter of broken floor boards and walls, partially scorched barrels, and other various things that were still on fire. The glowing heartbeats of the flames seemed to grow sharper and stronger to meet the sun as it continued to rise in the West, or perhaps that was just Storm's scattered head playing tricks.

"Hurry up and help me!" Ember snapped at Storm and the IceWing jolted to attention. "Find as many undetonated bombs you can. Quickly!"

There weren't many left. Out of the hundreds gone both dragons only found a handful of those both undamaged and unexploded. Perhaps they would have found more had they been able to look longer, but in the few heartbeats between the explosion and now, a din was already picking up; confused and angry shouts from deep within the camp began to fly through the air like angry hornets from a kicked nest.

"That'll have to do." Ember's yellow eyes were frantic, and perhaps a smidge gleeful. "Now RUN!"

Stuffing the bombs beneath her wings she hurried after the younger dragon, wincing as the sharp shoots dug into her delicate membrane. For one reason or another many of the Initiates had not been outside at the time of the explosion, only the guards around Canyon and Fang's prison. Everyone else seemed to be gathered in a large building near the edge of the dead lake.

The small part of her brain not focused on survival mused that maybe there had been some sort of important meeting going on. The meeting had, for obvious reasons, now come to a quick halt and dozens of dragons poured out in streams of brown, reds, golds, and blacks. Storm watched several of them take to the sky while others went on foot, but all were converging on the site of the explosion. She barely peeled her eyes away before she was snatched and jolted sideways.

On instinct her frost-glands twitched, ready to drown her attacker in a cloud of painful ice, but she relaxed at familiar copper eyes. Oryx pulled her into a small dejected building where Ember and Lotus were waiting. So distracted had she been with watching the Initiates she had nearly ran past their rendezvous. Trying to keep her panting quiet she gratefully sat down in the shade while Lotus peaked through a hole in the wall.

"What _happened_?" the MudWing yelped. "Why did you blow it up?! YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!"

"It was awesome, though!" Oryx gave her a cheeky grin. She knew he was just trying to cheer her up but even his kindness couldn't stop the shame that flooded her body.

"Clumsy talons over here is to thank for that." Ember snorted in Storm's direction. Storm bit her tongue hard to keep a snide remark from flying out, embarrassment colouring her face. Of all the stupid things she could have done why did it have to be _that?_

"It was…an accident," she admitted mournfully, although there wasn't time to be apologetic. The sounds of wingbeats, thunderous like the hooves of a hundred caribou, hummed in the sky. "So what do we do now?"

The MudWing pinched the bridge of her snout while she siphoned out an agonising sigh. "We'll just have to continue as planned." She regarded the other females. "How many bombs did you manage to collect?"

"Enough to get the job done," Ember asserted, "but we won't be able to waste any." In the distance the voices were growing to a crescendo of clattering hisses and hollers. The SkyWing clicked her wings together nervously. "If we're gonna do anything we better do it soon."

"Right." Lotus straightened. "Storm, give me your bombs. I will distract them while you and Ember get the boys out."

Storm hesitated. "Lotus, no, it's too dangerous. I'm the one that created this mess, I – "

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Ember's shout startled Storm into dropping the explosive sticks. Lotus gathered them with swift talons quick on fear.

"Hey hey hey, what about ME?" the little SandWing sat with his cheeks puffed out. "If everyone could stop FORGETTING about me for like five minutes that would be super cool."

Taking stock of her inventory Lotus answered without looking up. "Find somewhere safe to hide. We'll come get you when we're finished."

"What about the map?" Storm asked over Oryx's disgusted growl. Lotus was currently holding onto it and at Storm's question she removed it from beneath her wing.

"It's too dangerous for any of us to carry it," she said after a moment of thought. "I'll bury it here for now but we'll have to come back for it later." With two large scoops she made a hole large enough for the scroll and dropped it in before giving in a thick covering. The group of four froze as a 'check that cabin over there' sounded mere meters away.

"Good luck," Lotus whispered, holding Storm's gaze for half a beat before jumping out the building just as a trio of searching Initiates were about to walk by.

If the shock of a huge MudWing appearing out of nowhere wasn't enough, Lotus covered the sands before their feet in a sheet of fire that she kicked up into their faces. They staggered back and she took flight. Once they recovered they no longer had any interest in investigating the run down shack.

"There she is! Catch her!" one of them shouted before the group gave chase. Storm's talons itched to take flight as well, to aid the MudWing and keep those creeps away from her. But she couldn't, she was resigned to watch her friend risk everything for this one chance at a distraction. It felt as though her frost glands had burst open and coated her insides in ice. She prayed to all the Queens of times gone by that Lotus would be safe.

"That's our cue," Ember said. "Get ready to run – "

"WAIT! I'm coming with you guys!" Oryx seemingly decided right then and there. Storm barely had one syllable of protest out before he streaked past; his off-white scales a sparkling blur against the sands.

 _Whale dung, he really must be half-IceWing to sparkle like that,_ Storm thought with dismay as she charged after. The sand sunk her claws like molasses but she couldn't waste the energy to complain (aloud at least). The morning sun stretched their shadows into giants as they stumbled, tripped and flopped over the sand. Or at least that was what Storm was doing. It irked her in a small way to see the other two weren't having nearly as much trouble.

In the distance an explosion went off. Shouts and roars collected in the same direction and Storm forced herself to not look back. _One step at a time, Storm,_ she thought with each breath. _Just look forward and run._ Between Lotus and those still investigating the initial explosion site there were few dragons around to bother them.

"There it is!" Oryx shouted. "The prison!"

Emerging from the cover of golden waves was a squat, brown building so disgustingly decrepit it look like it had been made of thrown together sod. Oryx picked up speed but Ember's cry of warning held him back. "ORYX SLOW DOWN! THE TRAPS YOU IDIOT!"

"Oh yeah!" He dug his heels in and let the sand absorb his momentum. A giant grin like candied sunbeams cackled across his face and Storm thought he was enjoying himself way too much. "Where are they? Are the under the sand? Will they kill me if I touch them? How are we gonna disarm them?"

"Got it covered." Ember took out a bomb and breathed life into it with her flame before chucking it in a soaring arc. Storm watched it soar, momentarily confused as to how this was going to solve anything, until she noticed it was about to land right next to Oryx. Storm dashed to cover him with her wings just as the bomb detonated. Sand was thrown in all direction, hurtling so fast it felt like she was being blasted with shards of glass; it cut her wings and other exposed parts of flesh, but luckily the soft ground had absorb most of the noise. But luck was not something Storm liked to rely on. She flung herself across the gap between her and Ember, snarling.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? YOU NEARLY KILLED US!"

Ember rolled her yellow eyes with distain. "Don't be so dramatic, I got rid of the traps didn't I? Besides, if there's anyone you need to worry about I'd say it's her." Storm followed the direction of Ember's pointed tail to find small, extremely concerned looking NightWing at the end of it. Her black head speckled with red undertones peaked from around the squat building.

"Um…who goes there?" she shook out. When her eyes landed on Storm she perked. "Oh! I remember you! We met before!"

"Yeah, right before you and your goons CHASED ME into the desert." Storm could not believe this dragon right now. Who tries to start a pleasant conversation at a time like this!?

The Initiate snorted through her nose. "Well that wasn't MY idea! When Gnosis says you do something you gotta do it."

"OK first of all," Ember broke in, "no you don't. There's a little something called 'free will', honey. Look it up. And two, we're about to blow this place up and if you try to stop us we'll blow you up too."

"EMBER!" Oryx gasped out in dismay and the SkyWing shrugged unapologetically.

"Need I remind everyone we are on a _very_ tight schedule here, so, if you'd excuse me…" She took out another bomb and the guard – if you could even call her that she would doing such a dismal job – jolted away with a fearful EEP.

"WAIT!" Storm bellowed before Ember set the item to life. She didn't want anyone losing their limbs during this rescue mission if it could be helped. Carefully she slipped past the newly formed crater in the sand, around the once buried traps and snares that had been revealed, until she reached the window no larger than her face. Peering out were a set of large yellow eyes like sunlight caught in a bead of water. As the red face around them began to take shape Storm's body felt like it would float away in a sea of joy.

"Canyon," she whispered, blushing intensely as he eagerly gripped the bars as though he wanted to jump right through them towards her.

"Storm," he returned in that voice that Storm loved – deep and soft like the midnight sky.

She blanked, heart thundering. Should she say something? Do something? _Kiss him?_ NO! NO KISSING RIGHT NOW. Maybe. Also was she breathing right now? She sucked in a breath. No, apparently she hadn't been. Perhaps a hug would be OK. Yes, a hug seemed appropriate once he was out.

Another explosion, much closer this time, boomed from the air to remind Storm of the pressing time. "Stand back," she ordered with her newly found senses. The SkyWing seemed reluctant to move away but he obliged.

Ember tucked a bomb just beneath the door and breathed a plumb of fire over it. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" she bellowed and jumped down into the safety of the bomb-crater as another shockwave rippled over them. The agonized sound of metal twisting and ripping filled the air. An inch away from Storm's talon a piece of the iron walls sliced into the sand. She gulped. It was just a matter of time before the Black Talons came to investigate all THESE explosions. They had to move fast, no fooling around or sappy reunions or romantic moments of staring into each other eyes.

All these thoughts were very logical and pressing and went straight out the window as Canyon stepped through the mangled remains of the door. His pelt rolled the sunlight over itself like waves of fire that coil and curved around his muscles. He scanned the scene, searching, until his eyes met hers and he smiled. Whoever decided to release a basket of butterflies in her stomach at that moment was going to get a serious scolding later.

"I'm so glad you're alright," his voice touched each of her scales with glowing affection. He reached out as though to hug her, but then reluctantly pulled back, tension tightening his limbs. "But we can't linger here long; we're in danger. Priestess, she's – "

"He's right, we have to go!" Fang pushed passed the SkyWing with urgency. The black-diamond across his chest twitched with every rapid breath. Even Ember, who looked like she wanted to hug and punch the SandWing at the same time, held back to listen. "Priestess is HERE in the camp! She came to see us this morning!"

"And Storm," Canyon spoke, "there's something else you should know. The Ice Kingdom, it's…" He paused and looked around, "Wait, where's Lotus?"

The question would forever remain unanswered; a sound like thunder and screaming winds and terror crackled through the air and shook the very breathe in their lungs in that unmistakable hum tainted with magic. Like a shockwave it carried outwards from a single point where a MudWing stood alone outside of the building that the others had emerged from.

The figure was shrouded in the veils of sand that spun around her in a whirlwind of howling rage, but Storm recognized her as if she had been standing right before her.

It was Priestess.

Everyone – even the dragons fighting in the sky – stood entranced at this display of power. Only Lotus seemed immune and Storm watched her use the distraction to quickly slip away.

"What is wrong with you clumsy frogs?" the enchantress bellowed, her voice carrying further than what was naturally possible. She was a good half-mile away yet it felt as though she were screaming right into Storm's ears, right into her head. "How hard it is to catch a few disruptful dragons?" she asked aloud in a rather tired tone. "Honestly, do I have to do _everything_ around here?"

Apparently the answer was yes as yet another shockwave vibrated the ground, yet this time it was more than just a shimmer through the air. The sand began to roil and shift beneath their feet as if it turned to liquid. Storm's stomach flipped as the ground beneath keeled so fast it vanished beneath her feet and the group fell to the bottom of the bowl just as the sides began to rise higher and higher like curling tentacles until they were long enough to tie at the top and plunge them into darkness.

* * *

Completely immobile, it didn't take long for the Initiates to capture them. They didn't get thrown back into the prison luckily, although not all _that_ lucky. She had them line up instead, much like had made the IceWing and SandWing troops do back on the Island. The other Initiates had seemed to finally get their act together as spears and other 'Keep still or I'll stab you' weapons were passed around and held against their bodies so that movement in any direction caused a jab of pain.

Priestess stood before them much like a teacher about to discipline her rowdy students. Her bulking form was clunky like a polar bear's but had the same lithe grace of a snow-leopard on the hunt. Storm almost felt compelled to bow her head in shame under Priestess' disappointed glance but she remembered herself well enough to hold her chin high. On either side Oryx and Canyon were doing the same, though Oryx flinched when Priestess exhumed a troubled sigh.

"Why do meddlesome dragons keep getting in my _way_?" She seemed honestly agonized by this. Pacing down the line she continued, "I am just a simple dragon who wants to make the world a more enlightened place. Is that too much to ask for?"

"Of course not, your greatness." Gnosis prostrated and Storm held back from going up and kicking his elevated rump. Everyone seemed to be fighting that urge except for Ember who regarded the other SkyWing as if holding back tears.

"Is this all of them?" Priestess addresses the still-bowing SkyWing and he snapped up.

"Unfortunately no, there were reports of a female MudWing; the same one that infiltrated us before."

She clucked her tongue, annoyed. "And where is she now? What did she look like?"

The orange dragon beamed as he proudly produced a poster of their MudWing friend. "Luckily we had enough eye-witnesses to produce an accurate sketch. If we pay the right dragons we could have her head sent to us by tomorrow morning."

What happened next was wholly unexpected. Unceremoniously Priestess turned to look at the image in Gnosis talon and her jaw, eyes, and brows all flew in different directions. She released a chocked cry and snatched the paper from Gnosis so fiercely she nearly ripped the thing in half.

"LOTUS!" she screamed and all the Initiates shied away from the noise. Storm's blood quickened and she risked a quick glance in Canyon's direction. He met her nervous gaze. How did Priestess know about Lotus?

"Where is she!?" Priestess' muscular legs sprang out and she brought Gnosis crumbling to the ground with her claws around his windpipe. "Where did you last see her? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER?"

Gnosis' mouth flopped around like a cod's but Priestess had no patience to wait for an answer. She released him with some reluctance and turned to the line of prisoners. "You, Canyon!" she snapped and in a blur of motion came to stand an inch away from his snout. Despite the gap between them Storm felt Canyon coil into a hard knot; she ached to reach her tail to grasp his but knew it would only cause more trouble while Priestess was so close. "Of course, why didn't I see it before? Lotus came with _you_ didn't she? Don't get quiet with me now; I know she was your Chief Medical Officer."

Canyon's emotions broke through and he gasped. "Ho…how do you know so much?"

The MudWing smiled the way one does when they have the upper-hand. "I will make you a deal, Commander. Tell me what I want to know and I'll answer your questions. Tell me where Lotus is."

It was probably a trap, even Storm knew that. And if Storm knew then Canyon had probably figured it out ten years ago. Tight-lipped and defiant, he shook his head. "I will not betray my friend."

Storm felt admiration tingle in her chest and she smothered an adoring smile. Priestess didn't seem to have the same feelings. She snorted smoke into his face. "Fine then. Let's make a different deal." She glanced down the line of sand-covered dragons, studying them as one would a beetle to eat. Storm's hackles rose as she saw the dragoness' eyes like burning cinders fall on Oryx. She snapped her talons. "Grab the small SandWing."

Wide-eyed and a little teary, Oryx was shoved forward and Gnosis grabbed him by the horns.

A chorus of protesting cries zipped through the line, the strongest coming from Storm. She tried to spring forward despite the blades' painful sting against her neck, a low growl emanating deep in her throat. "I _swear_ , if you lay a talon on him I'll gut you and strangle you with your own innards."

"Lovely, thank you for volunteering to be next," Priestess began then turned to Canyon, "because every time you deny me an answer I'll steal the mind of one of your friends."

Gnosis got the cue and pulled out the terrible wand-like item that he kept in an arm band. He held it inches away from Oryx's throat and the dragonet whimpered.

"Don't!" Canyon pleaded. "Please, just – just use it on me instead. No one else needs to be hurt!"

"No worries, you'll get your chance when all your friends are already gone." Priestess smirked. "So now that I have your attention, tell me where Lotus is."

"We don't know! She flew off – ACK," Storm butt in as desperation clawed its way out but a firm shove back stopped further protest. Canyon was shaking his head, pupils shrunk to pin-pricks as though he was living through a nightmare.

"Please, I have no idea. I've been in a cell for the past night! Just – let's make a deal. I'll – "

"No more deals, SkyWing." The MudWing snapped her talons again. "You refused to answer my question; time to face the consequences." With an apt nod Gnosis brought the cursed stick closer to the trembling cream-scales.

Storm's heart dived. "NO!" She retched herself from the grasp of the guards, the unexpected action giving her some time to escape before they even realized what was happening. But the few second she earned was not enough. She got a few feet closer before a massive weight landed on her back and a sharp pain seared her wing. She glanced over to see a spear running right through the membrane, pinning her to the ground.

She could only watch as the wand was jabbed into Oryx's skin. She didn't want to look, but without her command her eyes shot to Oryx's face to watch the transformation take hold. Stomach clenched she waited for his eyes to sink like stones and his body to sag.

She watched, dismay and sorrow weighting her limbs as….absolutely nothing happened.

Oryx, who hung like a kitten held by the scruff, peeled open an eye and looked around. "Am I a zombie yet?" he whispered. This caught the attention of Priestess; she whipped around, triumphant smirk flying off to be replaced by disgruntled frustration.

"Gnosis, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and get on with it!"

The SkyWing looked to Priestess, then to Oryx, and then back to Priestess with the helplessness of a baby elk away for its herd. He poked Oryx a couple more times until the small SandWing swatted at him. "Hey! Cut that out!"

Storm's voice was caught between a cry of relief and a laugh. "It didn't work. Your stupid powers didn't work! HA!"

This enraged Priestess. She took in a simmering breath, the veins of her neck thickening with tension. "I don't have time for this. Just kill him."

Gnosis set the wand down and brought his claws to Oryx's throat, their pointed tips digging into the softer flesh of this throat.

"Father, NO!"

Everyone stopped and looked at who had screamed the words. It had been Ember. Her blazing eyes were fixed on Gnosis, tears falling freely.

"Father?" Priestess repeated what everyone was thinking. She looked back and forth between the orange SkyWing and the small red one. "Gnosis, do you know this dragonet?" she asked, annoyed but curious. Gnosis stared at Ember, blinking as if through a haze.

"I…I don't know…she seems familiar…" In that moment his eyes seemed to flicker with something, recognition perhaps, but it didn't last. In that moment the ground began to rumble, softly at first but quickly it grew until the sand began to bounce like beads. Confusion broke apart the tension in the air as initiates and prisoners alike shook apart and stumble to gain footing on the moving floor.

Gnosis dropped Oryx, his concern now elsewhere. "Mistress?" He sent a quizzical look to Priestess.

She shook her head. "This isn't my doing."

Free of her captors Storm crawled over to Oryx and pulled him into her arms, her talons shaking just as much as the ground.

"Well if not you than whom?" Gnosis demanded just as a talon shot through the sand, then another, until finally the head emerged, its' stony face still frozen in a snarl. All around more statues were crawling up through the sand like ants.

And then they spoke, their voices strangled and pained, but unmistakable.

 **FIND IT!** Wordweaver screamed through the soulless husks. **FIND THE MAP AND KILL THE THIEVES!**


	23. Till Death do us Part

**FIND THE MAP AND KILL THE THIEVES!**

The screeches peeled Storm's bones like a knife on wood. Shrill bells rang in her ears and all around the sand churned and groaned like water in a maelstrom. In all directions statues were crawling their way through the earth like worms; a never ending stream of horrific carvings battered with age. Their sharp eyes moved unnaturally fast, rolling in every direction like those of a frightened caribou.

This was now a solid ten on the danger scale.

"What are you orders, Mistress?" Gnosis cried out. His once thick voice was now shrill. Skittish eyes caught between the monstrous creatures and his leader.

Priestess took her time in answering. She had overcome the initial shock of the event and now looked rather bored as she watched her camp turn to chaos. She didn't even flinch when a stone head erupted from the sand at her feet, snapping at her talons. She merely exhaled through her nose with a sardonic air, mumbling something beneath her breath. Moments later the snapping head exploded in a hiss of tingling energy. The scent of ancient magic coated in inside of Storm's nose.

Lips pursed, the MudWing slowly exhaled through the nose. "Evacuate the camp to our secondary location. There is nothing we can do here."

Gnosis, the guards at the back, Storm and Oryx, even the frantic camel spider skittering through the shaking sand, gawked up at the MudWing in shock.

"What of the prisoners?" Gnosis asked, eyeing the crying SandWing and bleeding IceWing at his feet with distaste. Priestess' ears flicked with the annoyance of one unaccustomed to being questioned.

She turned to him, tone measured. "Wordweaver will take care of them for us."

A spindling chill ran up Storm's spine.

Gnosis looked uncertain, but Priestess continued. "Besides, I'd rather not be here if he decides to call in help from the rest of the Order of the Golden Dawn. We're not strong enough to face them yet. If their leader were to find out our intentions…"

The rest of the extremely interesting sentence was never finished. A zombie, the details of its body long since sanded away by centuries of time, took the uncalculated risk of attacking the first dragon it reached… which happened to be Priestess. She didn't even use magic this time. The statue lunged and she caught its broken maw in her giant claws and snapped them close. The head was made dust and the body soon followed. Priestess drew her lips into a tight, displeased line.

"Deal with the prisoners then round up the rest of the dragons that haven't fled already and let's be gone," she decided in a quick order to Gnosis before taking to the air. The SkyWing looked a little overwhelmed by the tasks but put on a determined grimace.

He turned to look at the line of initiates still guarding the prisoners, although that was a generous description for the shaking group of dragons more focused on the action around them rather than on the prisoners they were supposed to be watching. "You heard her," he snapped, none too pleased sounding. "Tie up the prisoners and meet back at the second base."

Since dealing with prisoners was obviously below his pay-grade, Gnosis flicked his snout up and jumped into the air, letting his massive wings catch the updrafts. He didn't look back. Actually he _did_ look back, briefly and only once, to where Ember was still sitting. Their eyes met, confused meeting despaired, and Storm could feel the unspoken words drop away like stones in the sea.

" _STORM,"_ Oryx hissed, his sharp claws dug into her hide moments before they were pulled apart, her still bleeding wing leaving a streak of blue in the sand. Under threat of spear-stabbing the prisoners were hastily cajoled into a circle and tied up with even hastier knots.

"You can't seriously be leaving us like this!" Oryx said as his wrists were bound, sounding shocked for some reason at the dastardliness of it all. Storm and Ember rolled their eyes.

"Of course they would do this!" Storm snapped, fear sharpening her tone. "They're _evil_ , what do you expect?"

"Well hey now," the SandWing binding her wrists spoke up. He was more reddish than normal of his tribe and slender necked, hinting at a mixed background – although Storm was no expert on such things. "I'll have you know we're not evil, OK?" the dragon continued, unaware of Storm's complete lack of caring. "We all have our reasons for being here, besides, _we're_ not the ones that brought killer statues upon the world."

His pert expression made Storm bear her teeth and the reddish dragon departed with a scolding huff. Storm wish she had covered his face with her frost breath but she would have to save her regrets for later. There were more pressing matters on the table now…like escaping from these binds and not dying.

The only reason they hadn't been killed already was that the statues seemed just as confused as the dragons they were terrorizing; like hatchlings stumbling out of the egg, they frequently bumped into things and attacked random dragons, not knowing where to start or who to look for. For now it worked to their advantage but she could imagine Wordweaver was simply getting his bearings with all these eyes. It wouldn't take him long and here they were tied up in plain sight. They might as well have a sign over their faces that said "Here we are! Come and turn us into statues, please!" That would have been a nice touch.

" _Now_ what are we going to do?!" Storm asked between bouts of gnawing on her binds. They were a sort of metal twine that neither tooth nor talon could rip, and she had a feeling fire would be just as useless. Were they forged by magic?

"Maybe Lotus will come get us!" Oryx sang with hope and Ember snorted out an 'assuming she's not dead' under her breath that luckily Oryx didn't hear.

"Even if Lotus is coming back we can't sit here and wait," Canyon decided in urgency. "We don't have the time."

Ember swivelled her head around to look at the other SkyWing, or tried to at least. It was a little hard considering they were nearly back to back. "And just HOW are we going to get out of this, might I ask?" she directed at Canyon. "Do you have a magic knife tucked up your snout, or maybe a magic key to free us? HMM?"

"We don't need magic!" Canyon threw back. "All we need are our wits and minds, so everyone _shut up_ and let me think."

"Riiiiight. Great. When you think us up a key let me know," Ember quipped and slumped down, her chains pulling on Storm's and forcing the IceWing to lean uncomfortably to the side. Storm grimaced with irritation. Canyon was only trying to help, Ember had no right to be so rude!

"Hey guys I – "

"Would you leave him alone!" Storm snapped at Ember, completely halting whatever Fang was about to say. "It's not like I see you doing anything to get us out of this situation."

"Cool it, IceWing. I'm just reminding your _boyfriend_ over there that good intentions aren't going to get us anywhere."

Both Storm and Canyon began to babbled incoherently about the incorrectness of that word and how now isn't really the best time to discuss such things and that they were really just good friends and –

"GUYS!" Fang bellowed over the fumbling dragons and the two dragons laughing at those fumbling fools. "I hate to be the only useful one here, but since no one else is stepping up to take the role I guess I should mention I was able to swipe _this_ off the guard."

"What is it? I can't see." Storm tried to turn around to see what Fang was referring to, hitting an already spitting Ember in the face with her horns.

Oryx was the one to answer, his elated voice bouncing off the sand. "It's a key for the binds! WE'RE SAVED! HOOORAY!"

 **YEAH, I WOULDN'T BE SO SURE ABOUT THAT.**

The circle of tied up dragons stiffened at the voice, cold and smooth like stone. Storm peered around, cursing herself for losing focus while the enemy had been organizing themselves. What had previously been a cacophony of blithering statues was now a unified army. In sync they turned their heads towards the helpless prisoners.

Within seconds they were surrounded and whatever minute hope of escape that had been germinating in their minds died out. A lone statue departed from the main crowd, it stepped forward and plucked the key from Fang's claws. A woosh of air rumbled through gravelly airways in what might have been considered a sigh.

" **If I had known it would be this easy, I wouldn't have put so much effort in,"** said the main statue, sounding a lot more Wordweaver-y than before. " **Luckily for you,** ** _you_** **are not who I am looking for,"** he spoke to Fang before stepping around the curve of prisoners until he reached Storm and Oryx. The statue grimaced in place of Wordweaver's smile. **"** ** _They_** **are."**

Oryx whimpered, Storm growled, but both fell silent when the statue began to change. Welts of black like bubbling ink began to drip along the white stone. When they burst, black smoke poured out and enveloped the creature in a second skin. At first it was smooth but scaled textures cracked along its surface. The stiff, crumbling wings turned soft and membranous, the chipped muzzle fattened out into the characteristic plump snout of a NightWing.

In the span of a few seconds the monster before them had gone from a broken husk to a seemingly living, breathing (albeit miniature) Wordweaver. He inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. A single eye of lush green slid open to reveal an expression of mixed triumph and boredom. The other one, the one Storm had sliced with her tail, remained shut. "Hello again." Wordweaver's voice rang out clear and perfectly.

Storm figured she ought to be furious right now, or perhaps terrified. Those two emotions would be perfectly reasonable. Instead amazement flared in place of her pride and she gaped at the figure before her. "How did you _do_ that?" The questions slipped out before she could stop it. The corners of Wordweaver's mouth quirked up into an amused grin that reminded her of the way adults used to smile at her when she had asked why the sky was blue. She suddenly felt the urge to slice out his other eye and smack off his grin.

"It's a simple spell really." Wordweaver's painfully fake humble answer earned him a glower from everyone within hearing distance. He swung the key in circles around his hooked claw. "All I did was project my image onto this mindless figure. It can be destroyed and damaged with no consequence to me but the tricky part was getting the textures right – "

"OH MY MOONS is he gonna ever shut up?!" Fang's exclamation earned him a shove from Canyon who seemed to have the sense that they shouldn't anger this guy. Fang, however, did not have this sense. He sent an incredulous look towards the scarred SkyWing. "What? I'm just saying he's been talking for like two second and I'm already bored."

"That's because you have the attention span of a palm tree!" Ember yelled in his general direction. It was returned with a smug scoff.

"Jokes on you," Fang said with a simpering tone. "Trees don't HAVE attention spans, they're _trees_."

The most withering, defeated sigh escaped from Ember and she looked to Wordweaver with indifference. "If you're going to kill us I'd like to volunteer to go first. I've had enough of existence, thanks."

Wordweaver looked rather conflicted, unused to this much sarcasm in one hour. He snorted, probably because he didn't know what else to do. "Well I only intended to kill two dragons today but I – uh – suppose I have to kill all of you now." He looked at the sun as though assessing something. "But it better not take long – I'm already in enough trouble as it is."

 _Trouble?_ Storm silently questioned. _Who would_ he _be in trouble with?_ In the back of her churning mind Storm recalled something Wordweaver had said down in the underground library about 'higher-ups' and initiations. And there was that little tid-bit Priestess had mention before fleeing, something about a leader. Who were these other initiates and, if Wordweaver was a mere scribe, how powerful could they be?

The NightWing snapped his talons, bringing Storm out of her thoughts and signaling the line of statues advanced forward.

"I see where I went wrong in my last attempt to kill you," the NightWing announced in a half-mumbled. "Slowly turning you into a statue, no matter how satisfying it would be, was a poor decision. I should have just slit your throats and left you to rot in the sand."

Five statues, one for each of them, spread out and raised jagged claws to their throats, waiting for the command. Storm's heart was vibrating. With each pounding beat the pulse in her neck pushed painfully against sun-warmed stone.

Storm wasn't a strategist like Canyon, or even much of a schemer like Fang and Ember, but she wasn't one to just sit back and let things unfold. She tried to come up with a solution, but quickly found her options dwindling by the millisecond. She doubted Wordweaver would fall for the same distraction she had used down in the library, and not even her tail was long enough to reach him from here.

There was no way they'd be able to get themselves out of this. They needed help. They needed Lotus and THAT meant they needed more time.

Probably.

As much as she hated to admit it Ember might be right. There was no way of knowing if Lotus survived and with each moment, the idea of never seeing the MudWing again ate away at her heart. She blinked back tears. No, she had to believe there was still a chance. All their lives depended on it.

Storm sucked in a breath, careful to not push against the claws still at her throat. "WAIT!"

Wordweaver, moments away from giving the order for their death, flicked out his tongue in frustration. "No! I will wait no longer! You have been nothing but a nuisance to me from the start – "

"If you kill us you'll never find the map!" Storm threw at him before she had even considered what to say.

The sorcerer paused, face puckering with the sour taste of her words. He studied her with his one good eye and Storm swore it looked more black now than green. "You mean…you don't have it?" he asked quietly, then, with more force, "THEN WHERE IS IT!"

The statues all began to growl and hiss, his emotions coming through them unconsciously. The one at Storm's throat tightened its grip. Storm's words came out in strangled gasps. "I – hid it. In the sand." She held her breath while he studied her, hoping he couldn't peer into her mind and see where it was.

 _Come on, Lotus. Where are you?_ Storm searched the skies covertly, praying to see a smudge of brown. She knew she was taking a gamble with no guarantee it was going to work. She could feel Ember's warning glance and Oryx's nervous trembles.

Storm nearly yelped when she felt a tail snake around her own. It didn't take long to figure out who it was.

"We can take you to its location," Canyon bluffed, quickly moving in to support her weak and crippled story. Perhaps he knew she was trying to buy time, or maybe he simply trusted whatever crazy plan she was trying to accomplish. Either way, his support gave her heart and she squeezed his tail back in return.

Wordweaver's single eye quivered as he stared down at Storm. His head blocked out the still rising sun to form an angry crown above an arched brow. He scoffed, sudden and harsh.

"But I only need _one_ of you to lead me to its location." His tail flicked in the sand and he then spat in shock when it sprayed along his face. He shuffled his talons, seemingly trying to remember how sand worked and how one was supposed to interact with it. "W – what I'm saying is," he spoke between sandy wheezes, "is that there is no reason for me not to kill all but one."

"Aha, well, yes." Storm's chest felt painfully tight and it took her several moments to realize she wasn't breathing. Gasping, she took in some much needed air in addition to helping her drag on this conversation for a few seconds longer. "You make a fair point there but what if – um – "

"Let them go, NightWing," a voice, Lotus', commanded. Everyone jolted to attention, their heads spinning around to find the source of the voice. Storm was the first to spot her; she stood behind Wordweaver, slightly elevated on a dune and silhouetted by the sun.

"LOTUS!" Oryx cheered and the group exhaled a sigh of relief at the sight of their friend unharmed. The relief was short lived. With a silent command Wordweaver spurred his minions into action. Like feral wolves the statues pounced her, holding the MudWing in place.

Wordweaver tutted. "That was the most pathetic rescue attempt I've ever seen." He glanced back and forth between the group and the individual. "Was this your big plan to outsmart me? Honestly, what passes for 'smart' now-a-days is quite sad."

"I _said_ , let them go," the MudWing simply repeated. Her expression, hard and cool, remained steadfast. Wordweaver's ears twitched, his brows drawing together in a suspicious crunch.

"And why would I do that?" It was less of a leer and more of a genuine question, though it WAS still part leer.

Lotus cast a quick glance towards Storm and their eyes met. Storm tried to send something of a curious yet warning glare but Lotus' eyes had steeled themselves. What was she up to?

"I have something to bargain with," she informed.

Wordweaver rolled his eyes. "Listen, I've already discussed this with the others," he tilted his head towards Storm and the group, "I only need one dragon alive for that. I don't really care WHO it is at this point but I'd really like to get all this over with before lunch so if someone would like to step forward – "

"This isn't about the map." Lotus's shoulders rose and fell hard, movements of a deep breath. "I…have information to bargain with. Information about Priestess that would be useful to you and your… _organization."_

"Oh?" Wordweaver's voice was intrigued but cautious. He narrowed his one good eye and took a step towards Lotus. Storm unconsciously pulled against her binds. If he so much as laid a _talon_ on Lotus he would regret the day he ever hatched – well, once Storm figured out a way to unbind herself THEN he would regret the day!

"And what makes you think you know anything about my _organization_? Hm?" The large NightWing lumbered around Lotus, circling her in a condescending dance. "We're a highly powerful, highly _secret_ , society. What would _you_ know?"

"I know you're in some deep dung right now," Lotus said pertly. The comment made Wordweaver misstep and stumble into the sand. He stood, shaking himself off with a huff and hissing at the laughing dragons still tied up.

"I – nonsense, I'm not in any trouble – what would you know – YOU'RE THE ONE IN TROUBLE"

"Oh stuff a tail in it, NightWing," Lotus continued. She sat down elegantly despite the stone guards still threatening to rip her throat out. "You've made one too many mistakes and now you're scrambling to fix them before anyone finds out, but I'll let you in on a little secret: killing us isn't going to earn the forgiveness of your superiors."

There was a pause while Wordweaver considered this and the restrained dragons puzzled it, Storm most of all. She had suspected that Lotus' had known more than she was letting on about this whole occult situation but HOW much exactly was a mystery. Maybe now they were about to find out.

"And what _will_ earn their forgiveness, MudWing?" Wordweaver's tone was grinding and reluctant; the tone of one who refused to admit they needed help but couldn't afford to pretend they didn't.

"Information on Priestess," Lotus answered. "I have a large reservoir of information about her, and, I believe I know what she is looking for in the Ice Kingdom." Unafraid, she met Wordweaver's eyes and held them with burning intensity. "Release my friends unharmed and I will give you all the information you need."

The NightWing perked at the word 'information'. Even without the added bonus of putting him in the good scrolls of the higher ranking initiates, Storm figured the offer would have still been fairly tempting. For a dragon who preferred to surround himself with scrolls rather than other dragons, information was valued above all things.

"Hmm. Very well. I might be willing to negotiate something," Wordweaver spoke, although the diplomatic tone didn't quite reach his eyes. "Although I don't see why I should believe a word you say. How did come by this alleged information?"

"Ha, well, that's a good question. You see – " Lotus took a breath, " – I'm Priestess' wife."

* * *

Author's note:

So... I'm not dead HOORAY! I left a little note of explanation on my profile for those who want to know why I disappeared. Nonetheless, I hope you all enjoyed this long awaited chapter C:


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